How To Save A Life
by The Watch Stander
Summary: Carson & Rodney on a mission to give aid end up finding more trouble. H/C whumping to ? Friendship/ no slash. Finished!
1. Chapter 1

**How to Save a Life**

by the **Watch Stander**

**Disclaimer: **All of Atlantis belongs to Sony/ MGM. The wonderful actors on the show have brought these characters to life. This is all for fun not profit.

**Rating: **Angst/Adventure/Hurt Comfort/No Slash just friendship!

**AN: **I love the friendship between Carson & Rodney and thought we could use another story focusing on these two and the rest of the team as secondary.

Love reviews so please let me know how you like it. Should be about 100 pages maybe? Could be longer. It will be a WIP and I'm halfway through writing it already.

On with the story!

88888888888888888888888

**Chapter One **- **The Flight from Hell**

Carson Beckett carefully made his way down the trail to where they had parked the jumper, intent on returning to Atlantis to pick up medical supplies that Colonel Sheppard and Teyla had promised the people of this planet. There was an Illness running rampant here, one that could be quickly cured by medicines he had available back on Atlantis.

Atlantis could easily spare the medicine as the Daedalus was due in this week and would have another load of them on board. Supplies being constantly replenished was one of the niceties of the ship frequently traveling back and forth between the Pegasus Galaxy and the Milky Way.

As he walked down the trail, Carson could hear Rodney right behind him, grumbling about being a bus driver. The scientist wasn't happy, having reluctantly agreed to take Carson back to Atlantis to pickup the necessary medical supplies.

_It's going to be a long trip_, Carson thought to himself, _Aye, . . . _a_ bloody long trip indeed!_

888888888888

Sheppard felt a sense of trepidation as he watched the men pack and get ready to leave. They were his friends and he had to quell the urge to watch over them and somehow keep them out of harm's way.

He just had a bad feeling about this trip back to Atlantis, since neither one of the two men was very good at protecting themselves. With Rodney and Carson together there was always the possibility of trouble.

Unfortunately, John had to remain here with Teyla for the trade ceremonies, or he would have flown them back himself. There was no one else he could send, since the jumper had come here filled with trading goods and supplies, allowing only enough room for Sheppard, Teyla, Rodney and Carson.

He walked over to where the scientist was still filling his backpack, "You'd better fly the jumper, McKay. Carson gets too excited if you have any kind of a bumpy ride."

"I heard that Colonel!", Beckett's voice rang out from across the room.

John smiled insincerely, "Sorry," he called over to the Doctor as he took Rodney's arm and pulled him further away and out of Carson's earshot.

"Just be careful, don't take any unnecessary chances," John had a worried look on his face.

Rodney sighed as he stopped his packing, knowing Sheppard meant well, but sometimes this overprotectiveness was a bit much and got on his nerves.

"Yes, yes, Mother! We'll be careful and bring back the goods."

Hearing the snarky reply made John's eyes twinkle as he smiled, "Just fly in a straight line and you'll find the gate."

"What? ... You're telling me how to find the gate? ... I'm not the one who got us lost coming here," Rodney replied indignantly.

"Yes, well . . . I just got a little turned around that's all," defended Sheppard.

Rodney shook his head, remembering their being off course for well over an hour on the way here, "Right!"

John looked serious again, "All I'm saying is . . . just be careful. "

Rodney finally nodded, knowing that Sheppard was worried about them.

"We'll be back in about three hours. I'll let Elizabeth know that we'll be bringing back extra crops and we'll need another jumper to help."

"Have her send Lorne. He needs a break."

"Right, I'll catch yah later," with that said, Rodney turned and left in a hurry to catch up with Carson, who was already halfway down the trail to the jumper.

John watched him go, then went back over to where Teyla stood with their host.

888888888

The puddle jumper left the planet and Rodney flew it toward space, flying on a direct course through the planet's atmosphere to get there.

Carson smiled to himself as he watched the scientist fly the jumper; somewhere along the way Rodney had become a better pilot. The doctor was impressed that his friend even seemed to be flying in a straight line.

"So, what did you think of all the crops that we will be able to trade for?" Carson finally asked after the ship was settled on a course toward the space gate.

Rodney kept his eyes straight ahead, "As long as they have some sort of coffee bean I'll be happy."

Beckett smiled, knowing how addicted Rodney was to caffeine, the man seemed to inhale it.

"Aye, I'm for that as well. It'll be nice to have an extra source, since the Daedalus doesn't seem to bring enough to keep us supplied between runs."

The silence seemed to drag on for a while, then just as Rodney was about to say something, a sudden violent jolt made the jumper lurch.

"What the hell!"

He quickly recovered control and brought up the HUD display before them.

What came up on the display made his eyes widen, "Oh God! We're screwed!"

" Rodney! ... That's a Wraith dart following us!" Carson was quick to observe.

Before the scientist could activate the cloak, another weapon's burst from the dart struck them, causing an explosion in the jumper's rear section. Sparks and smoke quickly appeared as the control panel before him flashed a warning.

Rodney's eyes reflected his panic as he read the display and spotted the area that had just been damaged - a power relay that handled both the shield and the cloak.

"OH, no, no, no, . . . This is bad! I need to fix that before we lose the shield."

He quickly turned to Carson, "Take over the controls! I have to get back there and repair this or we're both dead!"

"Right, Right!" Carson slid into the pilot seat after its previous occupant hurried into the back of the jumper to make repairs.

Rodney pulled down the overhead panel and rapidly started to cross wires that were salvageable, trying to keep the jumper under power and not allow their shield to fail.

Another jolt hit the ship and more sparks appeared from the panel before him.

"Carson, don't just sit there! Fire back!"

"Yes, I'll try!" Carson closed his eyes and a drone magically flew from beneath the smaller ship and headed back at the dart. The wraith ship failed in its attempt to avoid being hit by the drone.

A large explosion filled the screen of the HUD making Cason happily exclaim, "That's got the bloody bugger!"

His victory was short lived as another jolt hit them, proving the dart wasn't quite dead yet.

The force from this last blast threw Rodney forward against the panel. He was having trouble staying on his feet between strikes as well as rewiring the panels contents.

"Carson, how far to the gate?"

Beckett looked up at the HUD, noticing the Stargate coming up fast on the display, "Two minutes and we'll be there!"

The scientist paused a moment then stumbled again when another shot hit them, forcing him to cover his eyes this time, as sparks flew from the panel before him.

"Carson, dial another planet, don't use the Atlantis address! We can't have him follow us into the gate room!", he yelled out as he opened the adjoining panel and started repairs on that one. Even though his fingers were already singed from the hot metal and wires, he kept going, knowing if he didn't they weren't going to survive.

In the pilot seat, Carson was beside himself, "What bloody address? I don't know any other addresses!" he practically screamed back, painfully aware it was now up to him to dial and get them through the gate ahead.

"Dial anything! It doesn't matter!", was the high-pitched response from Rodney, fear clearly evident in his voice.

"Oh, Bloody hell! ... here goes nothing!"

Carson held his breath and punched in an address he made up. Much to his surprise the space gate puddle suddenly appeared and he headed for it as he sent another drone back toward the dart.

Too badly damaged to follow, the wraith fired one more shot at the jumper before turning away from the gate, trying to escape the drone that was hot on its tail.

The dart's shot hit the right pod, just as the jumper began to enter the Stargate. However, the drone that followed the dart impacted on its engine, causing the dart to explode.

The explosive force from the pod being hit, threw Rodney back against a bulkhead striking it hard and cutting his head, but somehow he managed to get up and make his way back to the panel, determined to finish.

The jumper slid through the Stargate, into the wormhole and finally emerged from a planet Stargate leaving a trail of smoke, as the damaged pod continued to burn.

Fighting the controls, Carson desperately tried to stabilize the jumper and keep it level, but it had a mind of its own and wanted to fly sideways.

Rodney kept yelling at Carson to keep it steady, as he tried to rewire the damaged panel and stay on his feet.

Power continually diminished from the right pod as the jumper slowly descended. Carson's heart sank when a forrest of trees appeared ahead directly in their path.

With all the jumper's power now gone, he was no longer in control of it.

They were about to meet those trees up close and personal and there wasn't a thing he could do to prevent it.

Panicking, he yelled, "Rodney! ... I can't hold it! ... We're going to crash! "

McKay stopped what he was doing and looked up at Carson, just in time to see the trees rushing at them through the forward screen, "Crap!" was all he said as he was suddenly sent flying backwards, his body and head striking the rear door hard as he crumpled to the floor.

Several rows of trees were mowed down before the ship finally slid to a sudden stop, sending Carson flying forward, striking his head against the console. He lost track of everything as blackness claimed him.

The sudden stop also threw Rodney forward. His unconscious body slid across the floor and came to rest against one of the seats behind Carson. Blood ran down his face as he lay there.

An eerie hissing sound was added to the silence in the jumper as smoke slowly seeped out of the panels and sparks continued to flare.

Light given off by the sparks reflected off the faces of the unconscious men.

88888888

TBC

What sounded like metal creaking was the first thing Carson heard as awareness slowly came back to him. His head felt like it had been smashed into a brick wall and his body had gone along for the ride. Every part of him was aching.

_Oh God, what the bloody hell happened? _

Slowly opening his eyes, his vision blurry, he finally noticed the cracked forward screen. Light filtered through the broken glass and there appeared to be tree branches covering most of it.

All around him, the smell of burning electrical circuits seemed to permeate the air. The smell assaulted his nose and throat as he started to lift his head off the console.

Groaning from the pain the movement caused, he tried to think around what must have happened. His pounding head told him he might have a concussion, so that meant he had hit something hard. It wasn't too big a leap in logic that confirmed he had crashed the jumper and hit his head on the console before him. Gently touching his forehead, his fingers came away sticky with blood.

A sudden realization came to him. _Rodney!... He wasn't alone in this mess._

"Rodney! Are you all right?", he called out. His voice came out sounding more like a croak, but he was in worry mode and it spurred him on.

"Where are you? Answer me!"

There was nothing but silence from the jumper around him. Smoke and air hissed from the back panels giving the jumper's interior an eerie foggy look.

_Oh Crap, I know he's hurt and I'm sitting here like I have all the time in the world . . . _

It took him a few attempts, but finally he was able to fully raise his head and sit up in the seat, still trying to get the area around him to stop spinning. With renewed purpose, he pushed himself out of the chair. Stumbling to the back, he practically tripped over the scientist's body, that lay wrapped around the base of a rear seat.

The lighting was poor, but even at this low level, he could see that blood covered most of his friend's face.

"God, Rodney! Don't you be dead! You hear me or so help me . . . "

He went to his knees beside the scientist and checked for a pulse. There was a rapid one and he let out his held breath. Slowly he turned the scientist onto his back and away from the seat base. The wound that was bleeding was on the side of Rodney's head and looked deep.

_Probably a concussion and hopefully nothing more, _he prayed.

Gently he probed his friend's body for further damage and to his dismay found ribs that were broken and others that were cracked. _Not good. _

After rubbing his face with his hand to try and clear his mind, he pulled himself up using the back of the seat and went to find his medical pack. His friend needed help.

A short while later he returned with his medical pack and dumped out the contents on the floor beside Rodney. There wasn't time to carefully search through it for the items he needed as many of them had been given to the people on the planet they had just left.

Fortunately, he still had some painkillers, several bandages, medical wipes and cleaning solution, as well as three morphine vials that would come in handy.

He swallowed two ibuprofen tablets to appease his throbbing headache, then went to work on the wound on Rodney's head.

First he checked the man's pupils with the hated flashlight he carried everywhere. Getting no response from the scientist, he cleaned the deep wound, carefully stitched it, then applied a bandage. The hard part came next, wrapping ribs while his patient was still unconscious and prone.

Gathering what thoughts he could muster from his addled mind he decided to do it right away, before the scientist awoke. Wrapping the ribs now would be less painful for Rodney and would save Carson's headache from unneeded loud sounds, mainly his friend's painful cries. Rodney was not good with pain.

Gently settling the scientist up into a sitting position, back resting against the seat, Carson proceeded to tape, then wrap the man's ribs tightly. When it was done, he sat back and took a deep breath. The pain tablets he'd taken weren't doing a very good job of masking his throbbing headache. Several hammers, in rhythm with his heart beat, continued pounding inside his head.

Touching his own forehead with his hand, Carson discovered the wound there seemed to have stopped bleeding, so he cleaned it with a medical wipe, saving what bandages he had left for McKay's head injury.

Right now there was nothing more he could do for his friend till he woke up.

"I'll be right back, Rodney, just need to get some items." Carson patted the scientist's hand even though he knew the man was unconscious. Somehow doing it made him feel better as he considered the acerbic scientist his closest friend.

Grunting from the effort, he painfully forced himself to his feet and went to search for food and water, as well as other items they would need to survive.

No one was going to rescue them here, for even he didn't know where 'here' was . . .

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

**How To Save a Life **

by The Watch Stander

Thank You to all who reviewed, added this to a watch list and read this story! I would answer all of you, but as I have dial up my time on the internet is limited as others need the phone line. So Thank You so Much!

The only medical courses I've taken are CPR & Basic First Aid so please forgive any mistakes.

**Chapter Two - Into The Woods**

8888888888888

John continued to worry, that little voice in his head telling him something was very wrong. It had been more than six hours and still no word from Carson or McKay. The jumpers should have returned here three hours ago. Since there was no other way off this planet besides the space Stargate, they were stuck here until Atlantis sent someone to get them. He hoped the delay was some trivial reason, but he suspected it wasn't.

The knot in his stomach seemed to tighten as he went through all the possible scenarios, none of them good.

_I hate not being able to do something . . . I need to find out what went wrong . _

Teyla shared his feelings, he could see it in her eyes, she was also worried about the two men. McKay was her friend as well as team member and everyone liked Carson.

"Maybe Dr. Weir needed Rodney to repair something on Atlantis and couldn't send him back immediately? It has only been six hours. They might be on their way back now."

She said it in a very calming voice, but John doubted that she believed what she said was true. One of the jumpers should have returned. Carson and Lorne would have brought the supplies immediately knowing they needed them.

"Lorne would have come right away, we need those supplies and he would have brought Beckett back as well. Something's gone wrong."

John was not a patient man when he was worried and right now his anger was building. He slammed a fist against the table, "Dam it! I want to do something, not just sit here!"

Teyla walked over, trying to calm him, "John . . . we . . . "

A faint voice came from both their headsets simultaneously.

"Colonel Sheppard, this is Major Lorne, do you read?"

John was startled by the voice, then relief quickly washed over his face, "This is Sheppard, Major, tell me you have Carson and McKay with you . . . ," John held his breath desperately wanting the reply to be "Yes."

"Sorry, Sir. I haven't seen either of them. Dr. Weir was concerned when she didn't hear from you . . . Is something wrong?"

John took a deep breath, "Yes, Major, something is very wrong . . . "

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Rodney felt the throbbing pain in his head become more pronounced as he slowly fought his way up from the surrounding blackness. There had to be a midget with a hammer in his head, pounding away for all he was worth to make it hurt this much...

"Ow,... God!", he moaned outloud.

He changed his mind about opening his eyes when a bright light suddenly assailed them.

"Rodney, I need to check you over. You know the drill..." A disembodied, but familar voice, floated down to him. He suddenly remembered being in the jumper with the Doctor, but everything else was fuzzy.

"What happened?", Rodney managed to whisper, still squinting his eyes against the hated light from the flashlight the doctor held.

A hand gently held his face as he tried to turn away from the light.

"We crashed and I still need you to follow my questions." Carson smiled at the cranky attitude from his friend. If Rodney had behaved in any other manner, the doctor would have been worried.

"Now,... how many fingers?"

Rodney closed his eyes and then tried reopening them to focus, "Three?", he guessed as the doctor's hand was a big blur.

Carson shook his head and put down his finger.

"Name?" he asked hoping to get at least that much from his patient.

"Rodney McKay, really screwed astrophysicist! Can we stop now?"

Carson chuckled and dropped his hand, "Aye, you have a concussion, but at least you know who you are."

"Wonderful! That makes me feel so much better." He tried to straighten up but immediately fell back against the seat when a red hot pain shot through his insides.

"Ow... Carson, what happened to me?" he gasped, his ribs and insides throbbing as knife like pains continued to assault his body.

Beckett put a hand on his friend's shoulder, "You have some broken ribs, Rodney. So don't go moving around. I 'll need to give you something for the pain after we decide on what we're going to do."

Rodney's eyes widened suddenly as he remembered the trees and being thrown across the jumper.

" What do you mean? Can't we get help from Atlantis?"

Carson shook his head, "I already checked. The whole front of the jumper is crushed and all of the circuits have been fried. I'm afraid even you can't fix them. The only way we can get help is by walking back to the gate we came through and that's a good many miles back."

Rodney looked dismayed, "You'll have to leave me here and go for help."

Carson smirked, "Not bloody likely! I can't leave you here in your condition."

"Don't be stupid! I'll only slow you down..." The scientist snapped back.

Beckett sighed, "The answer is, No! So... just get it through that thick head of yours, that either we go together or not at all!" When necessary he could be just as stubborn as his friend.

Rodney seemed to deflate, he was exhausted and in pain. There was no way he could convince Carson to leave him, so he'd better suck it up and get ready for a world of hurt. This walk to the gate just might turn into a death march considering the way he felt. His insides were still on fire making his whole body hurt.

Closing his eyes, he leaned further back again the seat. The midget with a hammer had decided to give his head a thorough pounding, making his ears ring as the beat went on and on...

888888888888888888

John's heart sank when they arrived at the space stargate and discovered the floating debris. Residue of a fire fight between a dart and jumper floated in the area around the gate. Pieces of a Wraith dart being the most plentiful, but there was also several pieces of metal that had come from a jumper.

Sheppard was piloting the jumper and flew it around the area three times, just to be sure there were no bodies or other articles from the missing jumper scattered out of their line of sight.

Lorne finally broke the silence that had come over them since finding the debris, "Looks like it was one hell of a fight"

Sheppard continued to look around, missing nothing, "Yeah," he said softly.

_His friends had needed him and he wasn't here_...

Finally he came to a conclusion, "They were probably on their way to the gate when they were ambushed. I don't see any other jumper parts or detect any on the scanners, so I assume they made it through the gate. They must have gone somewhere else besides Atlantis or the Alpha sight or we would have heard from them by now. Probably didn't want to bring the dart back with them. I'm hoping it was only one that attacked them. The energy signatures seem to confirm that. "

Lorne nodded as he continued to look out the front screen, "McKay would have thought of that for sure, he's pretty good at thinking ahead."

John smiled slightly, "That he is... "

He sighed, knowing there was a fifty-fifty chance of finding the two men in one piece on another planet, but he also knew they were in big trouble from the debris that floated before them. The scanner identified parts of an engine pod and that left the missing jumper with only one working engine.

_Not good_

Trying to quell his fear for the two men's safety, John turned to Lorne, "Let's get Zelenka and have him download the readings from this gate's buffer. Maybe it'll tell us where they went."

Lorne nodded," Sounds like a plan."

888888888888888888

Carson had emptied Rodney's backpack and refilled it with what food and water he could find on the jumper. There was some emergency supplies stocked in its bins, but the amount didn't matter since they could only carry so much. Especially since McKay was badly injured.

Beckett zipped the backpack closed and checked his vest making sure he had several power bars handy and an epi-pen just in case. Traveling with McKay gave the phrase 'Be prepared' a whole new meaning.

It was going to be rough going through the surrounding woods, especially with McKay's ribs being an issue. If there was another choice he'd do it, but leaving his patient behind in hopes of bringing back help wasn't even a consideration. The daft man would probably forget to eat and go into hypoglycemia shock and die here alone.

_No, I'll not be doing that... _

He looked at his patient, who appeared to be asleep, but Carson knew Rodney wasn't from the twinges of pain that kept crossing his friend's pale face. It was a bloody miracle he hadn't gone into shock.

Beckett wasn't a woodsman, but he had done enough walking through wooded areas to favorite fishing spots that made him well aware of what he needed to bring. After checking his revolver, he went to look for extra ammo clips that were kept hidden on board.

_Just incase we find some wee beasties that want us for dinner..._

He also searched for Rodney's tact vest that had been left hanging over the pilot seat before they crashed. McKay had brought it with him, but hadn't worn it.

Carson sighed, _if his friend had worn it, maybe his ribs wouldn't have been so badly injured..._

_888888888888888888888_

Radek Zelenka cursed as the download from the space gate stopped abruptly and he had to begin once again. He hated this, Rodney was good at making computers obey him and _where was he? Not here! _

Leaving Radek to be the one to save McKay's ass and Carson's as well.

_There will much owed for this! Rodney will be so in my debt!_

However, Radek was worried as there were many addresses in the stargate buffer Each one was a potential destination for the damaged jumper as they were not recorded in order of use. It might take weeks to find the right planet and then from what he'd been told, they might be too late.

Another curse and Colonel Sheppard, who was sitting in the jumper pilot seat, turned around, " How's it going, Doc?"

Radek looked up, "Slow, very slow..." then he looked back at the screen and began again.

John wanted to say 'hurry up', however he knew Radek was doing his best. It just seemed to be taking too long to get results. Rodney and Carson might not have that much time, especially if they were injured.

Once more he turned around and stared through the front screen at the space around the gate hoping that fate would give them a break and he would be able to save his two friends.

88888888888888888888888

Carson went through the jumper once more looking for any items he might have missed that would come in handy. They had enough food for at least four days and water as well. Medical supplies weren't plentiful, but the Jumper's med kit had supplied him with two more vials of morphine and another bottle of ibuprofen tablets. Both would be needed for Rodney was in bad shape. He should be lying in a bed in the infirmary and not taking a hike to the gate.

As a doctor, Carson knew all this, but he couldn't leave McKay here. He would just have to keep monitoring Rodney's condition and hope they made it to the gate in less than two days time. After that they would be in trouble as he was sure the painkillers would be long used up. He'd given Rodney several pills earlier, saving the morphine for later. Hopefully, by now they had have kicked in and numbed the pain somewhat.

Reluctantly, Carson bent down and picked up his pack placing it over his shoulders. Rodney's pack was much lighter. Carson had made sure of that as he didn't want to add to the discomfort of his friend. This wasn't going to be fun for either of them.

Making his way over to Rodney he bent down and gently shook the man's arm, "Rodney, I need you to get up."

The scientist's eyes barely opened and Carson felt terrible for having to make the injured man go through what was to come.

"What?" The scientist asked. Startled from his light doze.

"We need to leave for the gate. I need you to carry your pack."

Rodney finally opened his eyes and once more he was sorry. There seemed to be pain in every inch of his body.

"Don't feel so good, Carson. Maybe we can go later?" he pleaded.

Carson looked regretfully at his friend, "I'm sorry, Rodney, If we don't go now , there may not be a later. Your condition is only going to worsen and then we'll both be stuck here. No one knows where we went. "

Rodney looked up at him, "Oh,... right... have to get help."

"Aye, we'll help each other."

He tried a slight smile, but Rodney was too absorbed in trying to find a way to get up that wouldn't hurt. Carson stood, then gently pulled his friend up. The scientist swayed for a moment, then somehow managed to stay on his feet. Carson placed the backpack over his friends shoulders, then took his arm over his left shoulder helping him to walk down the jumper ramp. Rodney groaned at the pain from his ribs, but knowing that there was no other choice tried to keep it to himself.

After using the remote to close the hatch, they slowly made their way toward the direction they had flown in from. It wasn't hard to follow, since the jumper had mowed down a number of trees in it's decent.

Beyond this forest, Beckett knew there were fields and then the gate. How far a distance that was, he had no idea, but they'd find it and get home ...or die trying.

8888888888888888

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

**How To Save A Life**

**By The Watch Stander**

**Chapter Three - This Is The Forest Primeval **

8888888888888888

John walked down the hall for the tenth time today, on his way to see Radek in his lab. This time he hoped that the scientist had something to tell him about where their missing Physicist and the Doctor had gone. Once they had the planet address they could head out in a jumper to retrieve or rescue them. He wanted it to be the latter.

Radek was sitting before his computer staring at it as if it was a piece of broken technology that refused to give up it's secrets.

The curses he uttered were in Czech, but you didn't have to know the language to get the general idea of what he was saying.

John arrived in time to see the scientist pound his fist on the desk.

"Computer getting the better of you, Doc?"

Radek sighed and once more pushed his glasses up his nose.

"No, I just didn't want the answer it was giving me." He looked up at Sheppard with regret showing on his face.

Sheppard knew that look, "Just say it, Doc."

Radek sighed, "There are over two hundred addresses in the buffer and I haven't a clue which one is theirs."

Sheppard shook his head, disappointed and frustrated. "Well, we'll just have to narrow them down and assign our teams. The sooner the better." He was not giving up on Rodney and Carson by any means.

"Yes, that would be good plan. I will put them into some order for your teams."

"Ok, let me know when you have them ready," Sheppard quickly left to organize the search.

8888888888888888

Carson slowly made his way through the forest trying more or less to stay in a straight line. The trees in this section were thinning out, but their overhead canopy blocked most of the light, making it difficult to see the obstacles ,such as branches and rocks that one could trip over. Rodney had already done just that, taking Carson with him and the fall hadn't helped the scientist's ribs. It took him a full ten minutes to recover. Beckett was worried that Rodney might have further injured himself as he seemed to be holding his side as well as taking shallower breaths. When he asked, McKay told him he was fine, just winded from the fall.

Once back on his feet, Rodney seemed very quiet, not a good sign for him, Carson knew.

They continued to walk for another hour in silence until it became unsettling.

"How're yah doing, Rodney?" He had the scientist's right arm over his shoulders and was gently holding onto the man's belt to support him.

"Not so good, Carson. Can we stop?" Rodney pleaded.

"All right, but just for a moment. I'll give you another couple of pills to ease the pain, but then we need to go. It'll be dark soon and I'd rather we were out of these woods."

Rodney nodded, just happy that they were stopping for a rest. His insides were on fire. When they'd fallen earlier he had felt something snap as he hit the ground. Not wanting to worry Carson, he'd said nothing, but maybe he'd better.

"I think I broke something when we fell..."

Carson's head snapped up, "What!... Why'd you not tell me? Are you bloody daft man?"

Rodney was sitting with his back resting against a tree. "Didn't think it was anything to mention since I already hurt everywhere. What's one more pain?"

"You probably snapped a rib. Let me see. He sat down beside McKay and started to unzip the man's tact vest.

A sudden noise in the undergrowth around them stopped Carson. Turning toward the area it had come from, he stood perfectly still, noting the lack of sounds that the forest previously had. The bushes shook and he could hear what sounded like muffled steps from some animal. Drawing his 9mm, he waited as sweat dripped down the side of his face. He knew what he would have to do in order to protect them, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid. The fear though wasn't just for himself, but also for his friend. Rodney was in no shape to defend himself.

Carson waited - a good three minutes passed before he heard the sound of receding footfalls heading away from them - then nothing.

_Thank god! What ever it was left..._

He turned back to examine Rodney and just as expected found another cracked rib.

"Rodney, I'm going to give you the other pills that are stronger. They may make you somewhat light headed, but you need them to ease the pain. I'll hold off on the morphine until we camp for the night."

Rodney opened his weary eyes and looked at Carson, "Fine, whatever works."

He was much too tired to care at this point.

Carson gave him the tablets that had a low dose of codeine in them and then handed him a water bottle. Rodney drank a good quarter of the water, before finally handing it back.

The doctor smiled and squeezed his shoulder, "We'll wait a couple of minutes, then go."

McKay nodded and closed his eyes, grateful for the respite.

A short while later Carson helped him up and once more took his arm. They had only gone a short ways when once again Carson noticed the sound of muffled feet. This time there was more than one set. Bushes moved on both sides of the trail.

"Rodney, we have company." Carson steadied McKay, but drew his weapon at the same time.

Somehow Carson's tone of voice got through to Rodney and he realized they were in danger. Pulling himself together, he drew his weapon and tried to stand as steady as he could. He stood with his back against Carson's and together they watched the surrounding area for any threat.

The bushes shook suddenly and Rodney felt his heart start to race in fear. He hated this waiting it made him feel helpless. Two large animals leaped out of the bushes and came at them from both sides.

Carson was hit in the side by a large furry creature that reeked of musk and seemed to be all jaw and teeth. He went down with the heavy animal on top of him that grabbed hold of his arm as they fell. Behind him he heard Rodney cry out and then fall as well.

The animal was snarling in Carson's face, but he held it at bay with his arms, while trying to get a clean shot at it. His heart was racing, behind him he could hear McKay yelling at a creature that was attacking him.

Finally Beckett was able to put two shots into the beast that still held onto his arm. Yelping in pain, it released its hold , then quickly ran off into the bushes. The doctors arm throbbed in pain as blood ran down his sleeve. Still somewhat shocked Carson just lay there until he heard a cry of pain from Rodney. He quickly got up to help.

McKay was fending off the beast with both arms. The animal had him pinned beneath him and Rodney was unable to get a shot at the creature as he needed both of his hands to protect his face and neck.

The animal's head resembled a bear, but had the trim body of a wolf. It was snarling as it made several attempts to get to the scientist's neck. Finally it grabbed hold of the scientist's arm making Rodney cry out in pain as it's jaws bit down on his arm and into his flesh.

Carson went to his knees in a firing stance and took careful aim. Finding a clear shot, he pumped two rounds into the animal's body. Wounded, it yelped, then let go of Rodney's arm as it backed away. Beckett shot it twice more and it fell over onto it's side, legs still twitching in its death throes.

Rodney curled up into a ball, holding his left arm and whimpering in pain. His arm hurt as well as the rest of his body, he was sure he was dying.

Beckett kicked the animal's carcass to be sure it was dead then went over to McKay .

"Rodney, let me see, I need to help you," carefully he took hold of Rodney's good arm and pulled it away, exposing the bloody hand and forearm of his left arm.

The scientist was a mess, his jacket sleeve was shredded revealing a blood covered forearm beneath it. Both of his hands had been bitten and covered in blood as well and there was a large scratch on his neck that looked nasty. Fortunately, their tact vests had protected their torsos or they might have had even graver wounds. The animals had claws that would probably have gutted them if not for the vests.

Carson sighed, McKay looked terrible, but it might have been worse if they weren't prepared for the attack. His own left arm was bleeding as it continued to ache.

He needed to clean them up, but not here.

_There might be other creatures and once blood is spilled there's always trouble to follow_.

Beckett stood and helped a shaky Rodney to stand. The scientist cried out in pain, as Carson took the man's right arm and put it over his shoulders.

"Carson, what were those things?" Rodney asked in a weak voice laced with pain.

"Damned if I know. Bloody hounds of hell, if you ask me. We need to get out of here before they bring back their friends to finish the job."

McKay was dizzy and could hardly stand, but he knew Carson was right. He steeled himself knowing there was no other choice if he wanted to survive.

" I'm good... let's go. I don't intend to end my life as a dog biscuit."

Carson smiled at his friends remark, as they carefully headed down the trail away from the grizzly scene of their attack. Before the animals had rushed them he thought he heard running water in the distance. There was a good chance he would be able to wash and clean their wounds there.

8888888888888888888888

The shallow river had been a welcome sight to the two injured men. Carson had almost dropped Rodney though when he felt his legs start to slip on the embankment.

Rodney yelped when he felt his feet go out from under him. They ended up falling on their butts and sliding down the embankment together. Carson held onto him as they slid down the bank, ending up on a flat shore area and luckily not in the river itself.

"Carson, you are so not helping!" Rodney managed to whisper, bending over as he sat there trying to get his breath back and his heart rate to slow.

"What was that, Rodney?... A complaint? I've a good mind to leave you here and let those animals use you as a chewy toy!"

Rodney smirked slightly, "I may just take you up on that. At least it would be quicker than this torture..."

Carson looked at him as if he'd lost his mind, "Now there'll be none of that kind of talk. I'll not have it! I'll clean you up and we'll find a spot to camp for the night. Even give you that morphine... if you behave."

Rodney leaned back against the embankment. He held his arm, that was throbbing with sharp needle like pains, protectively against his chest.

Looking up at his friend with sadness in his eyes, he said softly, "I know you're doing your best, Carson, but I don't think we're going to make it."

Carson shook his head, " I said none of that talk, we'll make it!... You know I won't give up and neither will you, or so help me I'll kick your ass all the way to the gate!"

Rodney tried to smile, but he just didn't have the energy. Carson was a good friend and Rodney felt terrible that they would both probably die here all because of him not fixing the jumper in time.

"Sorry, Carson... for everything..." his voice faded as he closed his eyes too exhausted to say more.

Carson squeezed his friend's shoulder, then took his own pack off. He needed to clean Rodney's wounds as well as his before infection set in. The river water would need testing, so he did that first.

88888888888888888888

An hour later he had cleaned Rodney's arm and coated it liberally with the antiseptic wash as well as the other bites, cuts and scrapes on the man's body. McKay had been lying there quietly all the time Beckett worked on him. Carson was just finishing cleaning his own wounded arm when Rodney started to stir.

Beckett was having a tough time wrapping his own bandage around his arm.

Rodney's blue eyes came open slowly then he turned his head to watch the struggling man trying to tie off the bandage using his teeth.

Using his elbows Rodney managed to sit up, "Wait, Carson, let me help you."

Beckett looked closely at his friend's pale face and noticed the sweat on the scientist's brow.

"Since when did you become a doctor?", he asked as Rodney slowly but efficiently re-wrapped the bandage.

The scientist smiled slightly, "Had a lot of practice with Sheppard and Ronon always getting hurt. Teyla and I could serve as medics if necessary, we've bandaged so many different limbs."

Rodney finished tying it off and Carson had to admit it was a good job.

"Aye, your team does seem to find trouble most of the time. Never know what to expect when you all come back from a mission."

Rodney nodded and sat there slumped over like a broken doll. He was totally wiped out and his hands had started shaking just after finishing off the bandage.

This was not lost on Carson. He used his hand to check Rodney's forehead and found it feverish.

"What I wouldn't give for some antibiotics right now ..."

Hearing what his friend said, Rodney looked up suddenly, then started to open a pocket on his vest. Carson watched him not knowing what he was doing and thinking he was after a powerbar.

McKay pulled out a bottle and smiled slightly as he handed it to a surprised Carson.

"Your wish is my command!", he said softly noting the shocked look on the doctors face.

Beckett quickly read the label and noted it was a ten day supply of antibiotics that covered a wide spectrum of infections.

He looked over at his friend, "Rodney...where did you get these?"

"I always carry a ten day supply with me. Like I told you, you never know when you'll need them. Someone is always getting hurt and most of the time it's me that gets a small cut that gets infected. Even a splinter will do it sometimes, so no more making fun of me!"

Carson smiled and gently squeezed his friends g good arm. "Aye, I'll not be doing that. Let's get some of these into you." He opened the bottle and took out one tablet and handed it to Rodney, then pulled out the water bottled and handed that to him as well.

McKay swallowed the tablet and finished off the bottle of water. Carson then refilled the bottle with the water from the river and threw in a purification tablet. They wouldn't drink it, but it would help in keeping their wounds clean.

Rodney looked at the Doctor as the man put back their meager supplies into the pack. He looked exhausted and just as beat up as Rodney felt.

"Carson, you need to take one as well."

Beckett looked up at him, realizing that what he said was true. He had been bitten by an animal as well and he knew it might become infected.

"I know that, Rodney, but there won't be enough left for the ten day's we need to take them."

Rodney stared at him as if he were an idiot," Carson, do really think we'll survive more than 5days? Seriously, I doubt it. If we don't get sick and die from these wounds, something will eventually catch us and eat us!"

Carson smiled, glad that at least Rodney was still able to think straight and remain in a somewhat good humor. Having him go into depressed mode would not be good for either of them.

"Aye...right you are, I'll take some as well."

After opening the pill bottle, he took out a tablet and swallowed it dry. Reaching into his pack he pulled out a bottle of water and took a long drink, just now realizing how dehydrated he was.

Rodney lay back against the embankment closing his eyes. His hands still shook with tremors every few minutes, but he hardly noticed through all the other pain that shot through his body.

Carson pulled out a powerbar from his vest and shook McKay's arm.

The scientist turned to face Carson and noticing the bar being offered, slowly reached for it.

"Thanks, Carson." He said softly, grateful for the man's care and friendship.

"You're welcome. I'll go look for some shelter and make us a fire. Then we'll eat a meal and give you that well deserved morphine I promised."

Rodney nodded as he took a small bite of the bar, not really hungry, but knowing he needed it to stave off his hypoglycemia.

888888888888888888888888888888888

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

**How To Save A Life **

**By The Watch Stander**

Thank you to all for the reviews, fav lists and alerts! You are all wonderful!

This is mostly a short chapter, a quiet time between the two men, but the next will have more action and a twist to all who thought this was just a jaunt through the woods . . .

8888888888888

**Chapter Four - Silence Must be Heard**

Rodney's hands continued to shake as he held the power bar. Residual shock from the animal attack was finally catching up to him. Inside he was still terrified, the attack had scared him as it had revealed just how vulnerable they truly were.

_If Carson hadn't been in time . . . _

Taking a deep breath, he continued to chew the powerbar, trying desperately to not have a panic attack.

8888888888888888

Carson found shelter for them about 100 feet away from the river. Two trees had fallen and crossed over each other making a pocket underneath where they connected. It would be a safe haven from any marauding animals, as their backs would be covered by the trees limbs that formed a natural barrier. Any attack would be a frontal one where the two men would have the upper hand.

Making his way back to where he left Rodney, he kept an eye out for any other threats, but the noises of the forest were back making him feel safe.

McKay was still lying where he had left him, face pale with a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. Carson worried that Rodney was getting worse and at a faster rate than he had anticipated. The animal attack had not helped his condition adding more injuries to both of them, that their bodies must now fight to heal.

Shaking his friend's arm to awaken him, he then proceeded to help get him up and onto his feet. Rodney seemed groggy, but took Carson's hand and stood.

"That's a good, Lad. I've found us a home for the night. Just you and me by the fire light. How's that sound?" Carson smiled, pleased with himself as he squeezed his friend's arm.

Rodney blinked then looked at him as if he were crazy, "You need help Carson, you must have hit your head harder than we thought."

"Just a little teasing, so don't get your back up! I'll not be listening to you griping about our accommodations either . . . so don't even start!"

Rodney felt himself suddenly sway, but Carson grabbed him and steadied him.

"Easy, Rodney, there'll be no falling down allowed."

The scientist took a deep breath, pushing away the dizziness, "It's all right . . . just a little dizzy . . . need to lie down. Anywhere you say, Carson, it doesn't matter." He was way too tired to snark back at his friend.

"Aye . . . let's get you there. You need to eat and I need to check your dressings."

Carson put the scientist's arm over his shoulders and together they made their way away from the river.

Once he had McKay inside their shelter, he pulled off their backpacks and placed one behind Rodney's head. The scientist gratefully lay back against it and closed his eyes, hurting and aching all over.

Carson stood there for a moment, taking in his friend's appearance. He wanted to make a meal for the man to eat before he fell asleep, but knew they needed a fire for protection and that must come first.

"I'll be back in a moment, Rodney. Take a rest while I get us a fire started."

It didn't take him long to find twigs and kindling as well as dry logs. He quickly piled them up near the entrance to their shelter and then hunted for rocks. Forced to go back to the river to get those, he chose medium sized ones that he could carry. It took him three trips, but finally he had enough. Ten minutes later he'd dug a hole, placed the rocks in a ring around it and was in the process of lighting their fire when a cry from inside the lean-to made him stop. He quickly went inside to where McKay was.

Rodney was tossing in the throes of a nightmare, so Carson shook him awake.

"Rodney, wake up it's all right, we're safe . . . it's just a dream."

The scientist was trembling as his eyes opened wide upon hearing Carson. "What . . . ?"

"Easy, Rodney, you're safe . . . I'll not be letting anything get to you." Carson stated softly, as if talking to a child. He didn't like the look of terror that was in his friend's eyes when he'd first awoken.

_He has a fever and there's infection as well to worry about . . . _

"Let me just start the fire then we'll eat," He tried a slight smile and then left to finish the fire.

Rodney watched him leave, then lay back down resting the side of his face against the pack. He continued to tremble, as he vividly remembered the attack by the animals.

_8888888888888_

Carson finished starting the fire and once it was burning, went to get a few more logs for overnight, hoping the fire would keep away the wildlife as well as supply them with heat. The temperature had already dropped since the light had faded making the air cool. With the overhead canopy of trees, the forest appeared pitch black. The only light was that of their fire.

Carson sat there by the fire for a few minutes trying not to think of all the ways that this whole trip to the gate could go wrong. By nature he wasn't a pessimist, unlike McKay, but even he had to admit the odds of their making it were stacked against them and increasing all the time. There was no way they were going to get to the gate in two days, not after suffering the attack from the beasts. He could feel his arm throbbing and knew that he as well as Rodney had an infection from the wounds. Poking the fire with a stick, he then got up and headed into their shelter.

He would have to get them home . . . There was no other choice . . .

88888888888888888888

John was getting seriously pissed, none of the addresses they'd been to so far had been the one his friends had gone to. They'd tried the ones that his teams had previously visited first, hoping that one of those would have been dialed by the men, but there was nothing there when they arrived and none of the people there had seen them.

It was late, his men were tired, but no one had stopped searching. Carson was well liked by everyone on Atlantis and Rodney, well he was Rodney, people were worried about him as well. After all, how many times had he saved them?

Many of the scientists had continued to ask him about the search and if they'd had any luck, McKay it seemed was liked by his people no matter how acerbic he was to them.

John ran a hand through his hair and sat there trying to think of any other way he could find the men. When the Daedalus arrived in a few days they could use it to track the men's transponder signals. The ship could do it far more efficiently having a greater range available to it.

For now though all he could do was continue to search and worry.

8888888888888888

Elizabeth was sitting in her office scrolling through the addresses and sending them to the jumpers that were searching for the men. It was long and laborious, but she didn't mind. Her two friends were missing and that kept her going long into the evening hours when she should have been having dinner and thinking about getting some sleep.

There was no way she could rest, constantly worrying about the two men and their chances of survival. Carson was a doctor not a soldier and she wasn't sure how he'd fend out there. Rodney was a scientist, and though a member of an off-world team, wasn't use to being on his own, away from the safety and protection of his team.

She rubbed her forehead trying to rub away the ache there. Atlantis couldn't afford to lose either of the two men and neither could she. Carson was irreplaceable to her. Always so kind and thoughtful and Rodney, she didn't want to go there. He had so much potential in him and she couldn't bear to think of a time when he wouldn't be here to talk to or just have lunch with when the stress became too much for her. She'd miss him terribly and life here would never be the same. His team would be lost without him and John, she wasn't sure how he'd handle it.

.Sighing she continued to work, praying that they'd both be found soon...

8888888888888888888

Carson entered the shelter, surprised when he found the man still awake.

"How about a lovely dinner and then a nice cocktail that I guarantee will put you out like a light?"

McKay smiled slightly, "Only if it's something I like or I'll just have a couple of power bars," he started to sit up, helped by the Doctor.

Carson looked at him smugly, "Aye . . . I guarantee you'll like it. It's your favorite, Sauerbraten, no lemon, I checked."

Rodney's eyebrows rose in surprise and quickly reached out for the MRE that Carson retrieved from the pack.

He looked at it then turned back to Carson, disappointed, "Carson, this is meat loaf! Do you need glasses?"

Carson feigned surprise, "Is it now? Somehow I thought sauerbraten sounded more appetizing. Let's just go with that, OK?"

Rodney managed a pained look and nodded wearily, "Whatever . . . "

The two men tore open the packages and proceeded to eat in silence.

Rodney played with his food, only taking a few bites whenever Carson stared at him. He really wasn't hungry and felt like death warmed over. The expression being hit by a Mack truck could describe the way he felt. Add a throbbing headache and fever and that just about covered it all.

Carson wasn't feeling much better as he too found his appetite had gone missing, but he knew they both needed the nourishment, especially Rodney. Beckett didn't want to have to deal with hypoglycemia along with everything else.

His own arm was still throbbing. The antibiotics were obviously not powerful enough to kill the germs that the wounds produced. It looked as if Rodney's prediction of lasting less than five days just might come true unless they got lucky and found the gate tomorrow.

Finally too tired to eat, he put his plate down when he saw Rodney had already lost interest in his own meal and now had lines of pain around his eyes.

"I think it's time for that shot I promised, then it's to bed for you." Carson told him.

Rodney looked at him, wearily. " I'm all for that, but wake me and I'll take second watch."

Carson smiled, "Right you are, now let's get you ready."

The scientist lay back on the ground and got comfortable using his pack as a pillow, cradling his wounded arm protectively against his chest.

Carson gave him half a shot of the morphine and it crept through his veins making everything numb. He was so tired, his eyelids started to droop and soon he was fast asleep. The doctor retrieved a thermal blanket from his own pack and covered the man, tucking it around him, then gently patted his arm.

" Sleep tight my friend, I'll keep watch over ye and nothing will hurt you, not while I'm here."

Rodney was truly one of his closet friends, no matter how much they argued there was always a known friendship and affection between them. McKay reminded Carson of his younger brother and it was one of the reasons the Doctor cut him so much slack.

Most people thought Rodney an arrogant and hateful man, but they didn't look beyond the facade, for if they had they'd have found a different man entirely. This was the enigma known as Rodney McKay.

Carson settled back against the wall of their shelter and taking his gun from its holster, lay it down by his side. Resting, he watched as the fire crackled just outside their shelter. His body ached, but at least that might keep him awake, for he feared if he slept the animals might come again.

_It's going to be a long night . . . _

8888888888888888888

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

**How To Save A Life**

**By The Watch Stander**

**Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all...I can't believe so many are reading this! **

**Be sure to watch the video of the same name by Obfreak. It's awesome... **

**8888888888888888888888**

**Chapter 5 - Out Of The Frying Pan...**

The night seemed to drag on as Carson continued to fight the call of exhaustion and sleep. At one point he caught himself dozing when a loud shuffling noise nearby woke him. His gun was instantly in his hand as he waited to see if anything came at him.

His eyes swept the area around the fire that still burned brightly, he had put several large logs on it to last the night. Across the shelter, Rodney still slept, his soft snores reassuring Carson that he was all right.

Finally the noise seemed to drift away, but it had been enough to get Carson's heart racing and now he was wide awake. Standing up he stretched his legs trying to work out the stiffness in them and wondered what the morning would bring,_ help maybe? Or something worse_, he really didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that one way or another they were going to make it to that gate, or so help him anything that got in his way would suffer the consequences.

He never woke Rodney to take second watch, for he knew McKay wouldn't be able to stay awake and the man needed rest desperately. Finally he sat down next to where McKay slept, finding comfort in knowing his friend was resting and they were safe for the time being. Sometime before dawn he succumbed to sleep. His chin resting on his chest as he dozed, the noises of the forest lulling him to sleep.

The birds were starting their morning calls when something brushed against his arm, causing him to awaken. When his vison became clearer he was jolted awake by what he saw before him...

There were five guns pointed at him, held by very large men, none of whom looked friendly.

Slowly, he raised his hands. "Hello?" he ventured, not sure what kind of response he would get, but not wanting to appear threatening either. Those were very big guns that were aimed at him.

The man standing directly in front of the others appeared to be younger, about twenty odd years, but there was a hardness about him. He looked Carson over with contemp, "You're not a soldier, who are you?"

Beckett wasn't sure what he should say, deciding finally on the truth, "I'm a doctor and my name's Carson the man next to me is Rodney. Our ship came through the gate after being chased by a wraith ship and it crashed nearby. We're just trying to get to the gate to go home and mean no one any harm."

The young man appeared to consider his words carefully, "A doctor you said?"

"Aye,...my friend is a scientist, we're not soldiers."

Carson knew he was helpless, his weapon was tucked into the belt of the man standing before him, obviously taken from him as he slept. There was no way he could reach Rodney's weapon if it was even still in the scientist's holster.

He could feel his headache making a reappearance and fear was making his heart race as well from not knowing what these men were going to do. He tried to sound friendly.

"I just need to know how far the stargate is from here and we'll be on our way."

The man before him smirked, "You'd never make it. You have wounds that I suspect, are from the skaars we found dead a ways back. You won't last another day, the illness from those will get you."

Carson's heart sank, they were in trouble, serious trouble.

"Aye, my friend and I were both bitten and I've tried some medicine, but it doesn't seem to help."

The man turned and said something to a man behind him, who stepped forward after handing his weapon to the leader. He pulled a pouch out from his tunic as he came forward and sat down next to Carson.

Beckett didn't know what they were planning, but this man carefully took his arm and unwrapped the bandage, exposing the raw wound that looked red and inflamed. Opening the pouch he took out a jar, opened it and liberally applied the jell like substance to the wound. It burned at first and Carson cringed, then it started to tingle. Finally it felt cool and there was no more pain. The man then re-wrapped the wound and went to get up.

Carson looked at him gratefully, "Thank you, I'd love to know what that is?"

The leader spoke up, "It's kya salve, we make it from the sap of the trees. It'll cure the infection that the wound is causing."

"Sounds like a bloody miracle drug. Could we trade with you for some of that?"

The leader smirked.

"Maybe not," Carson said softly and then looked away, knowing these men could just take what they wanted. They were totally at their mercy.

"Pack your things, you're going with us. There's sickness in our village and a doctor is needed desperately," The young man told him gruffly.

Carson brightened at hearing that, realizing they weren't going to be killed after all.

"Right, just give me a moment."

He immediately packed away his supplies and finally hefted the pack onto his shoulders.

Rodney had apparently slept through the whole incident, never so much as twitching. He was still lying on his side sound asleep.

Carson knelt down to awaken him, but was quickly pulled away by the leader who grabbed hold of his arm.

"No need... he's not going..." The man's voice was cold and something in his eyes made Carson afraid.

Fear went through Beckett like a knife, "What do mean? I'm not leaving him here, he's my friend! He needs help!"

"We have no need for scientists, they are a bane to our society and caused most of our problems," was the cold reply from the young man that held his arm.

He started to pull Carson away, as another man drew a long knife from a scabbard and began walking toward the sleeping scientist.

Carson seeing this jerked his arm out of the leader's grip and flung himself in front of where McKay lay, trying to protect him.

"Listen to me, he can help!...bloody hell he's my friend!" he pleaded as the man with the knife stood just above him trying to get to Rodney, but Carson was having none of that, holding both hands up to try and block the knife.

"What kind of people are you that you'd kill a helpless man?" He pleaded in anguish, knowing they were about to kill McKay.

The leader stood there staring at him, the others around him waited for orders including the man with the knife that was still standing over Beckett.

Carson became angry, his Scottish temper finally erupted and he directed it at the men before him.

_They would have to kill him before anyone got to Rodney, he'd not allow it._

" I'll not help ye if you hurt him! So help me, your whole bloody village can die for all I care! ... If this is who ye are, there's nay a one of ye worth saving! You might as well kill us both!"

His Scottish brogue became thicker and his face reddened with anger at what they were trying to do to his friend.

The leader continued to watch him as if weighing his words, trying to decide what to do.

Carson was beyond angry, he couldn't believe they could be so unfeeling after just helping him a moment ago,"If you hurt him then you're no better than those animals that we killed!"

_What kind of monsters were they? _

Finally the leader nodded,"All right, we'll take you both, but you'd better help us or you both die."

Carson was too relieved to speak, so he nodded, and turned back to wake Rodney up. Shaking McKay's arm he got no response, so he shook it harder. Finally a pair of bleary blue eyes opened and tried to focus on him. Carson took a deep breath, the argument with the men had taken a lot out of him and his adrenalin was just now starting to dissipate.

"Rodney, I need you to get up. These men are taking us to their village."

McKay looked at him groggily, "That's good, tell the nice men to come back for me later...", then fell back on his pillow.

Annoyed and in no mood to deal with a drug-fogged Rodney, Carson took out a water bottle and poured some on his friend's face. It got an immediate response.

"Are you trying to drown me, Carson?" sputtered a now wet McKay as he started to sit up.

"Aye...I will drown you if you don't get up. These men will not wait for you..."

Carson hated doing this to the injured man, but now was not the time for this, their lives were at stake.

Behind them the leader said something to one of his men.

Carson was surprised when the same man that had helped him earlier suddenly reappeared by his side, handing him the jar of salve. The doctor realized it was for Rodney's wounds and looked at the man sincerely, "Thank you, son."

88888888888888888888888888888888

After Carson used a salve on his wounds, Rodney felt himself being helped into his pack. McKay was still groggy from the morphine that had been given to him the night before, but Carson seemed very agitated and he couldn't figure out why or what might be causing it.

"If we're being rescued, why such a hurry, Carson?"

The doctor roughly took the scientist's right arm and thrust it through the shoulder loop on the backpack. He did however, show more care with Rodney's injured arm, but it still hurt.

"Ouch, be careful! And you didn't answer my question! Why the hurry?"

Rodney was not happy and apparently was now more awake.

Carson sighed, "Not here, Rodney! It'll have to wait! Just do what I say!"

He stood up and helped the man to his feet. It was becoming clear to even McKay that something wasn't right about this, so called rescue, but he decided to play along. He had enough trouble concentrating on staying upright as his body wanted to tilt to the left. It was all Carson could do to prevent the scientist from falling over.

Together they managed to stumble out of the shelter. Once outside, Rodney got his first good look at the five men that surrounded them. The guns aimed at them were also a wake up call that they were in trouble.

_Oh crap, we are so screwed... _

88888888888888888888


	6. Chapter 6

* * *

**How To save A Life**

by **The Watch Stander**

_Thank you again to all who leave reviews and ideas for the plot! I used one person's comment to broaden the story. This really was supposed to be a short cut and dry tale, but it's becoming an adventure! Also, I love reading what you say and that people have added this to their favorite story and alerts lists._

I'm so glad that Carson is back, he and Rodney are so much fun together.

**Chapter 6 - It's Raining, Cats and Dogs.**

88888888888888888888

With Carson's help, Rodney managed to keep a slow but steady pace behind the two men walking ahead of them. The leader and one man were in front while three others stayed behind Carson and Rodney to watch them and keep an eye out for the beasts that claimed the wooded area as theirs.

.McKay's head throbbed along with a knife like pain that stabbed at his side. He was trying his best to keep up, more for Carson's sake than his own, as he could tell that his friend was afraid of these men. Something had happened earlier while he slept and at the first opportunity he was going to ask Carson just what that was.

The woods seemed to stretch on forever as the two men staggered down the trail. Carson was beyond tired, both from the stress and the need to help support Rodney, who was barely staying on his own feet. Leaning more and more on Carson as time passed.

As they followed their captors, the doctor had time to think about their situation and the men's hostile behavior toward them. Their captors seemed cold-blooded in their treatment of strangers, making him think that something must have provoked this attitude, for they had also helped him and Rodney by giving them the salve. Granted it was in their best interest to keep him alive to help their village, _but even so. _Something wasn't right here and he really needed to know what that was so he could react accordingly.

Finally Carson was forced to come to a halt when he felt Rodney's legs give out as the scientist started to slide to the ground beside him.

"We need a rest! ..., " Carson yelled as he sat Rodney down with his back against a tree.

The leader turned around and glared at him, "What now?"

"We need some water and a rest if we're to keep up with you lads." Beckett hoped they wouldn't see Rodney's weakness and leave him behind after all.

The leader reluctantly nodded, "All right, twenty minutes, no more! We're only an hour's march to our village."

"Carson, what's with these guys?" Rodney whispered, barely awake as he stretched out his legs trying to get comfortable against the tree. His face was red as droplets of sweat slowly made their way down the sides of his face. Hypoglycemia was starting to rear its ugly head along with dehydration. He hadn't eaten today.

Beckett looked around and once he was sure he could say something without being overheard, decided truth wouldn't hurt. Opening his pack, he took out a power bar and a bottle of water that he handed off to the scientist, who tore open the bar, took a bite then washed it down with half the water.

"They threatened to kill you, Rodney, if I didn't promise to help their village. It seems they have need of a doctor there for an illness they mentioned."

Rodney finished eating the bar, then closed his eyes trying to rest, but he had listened to everything Carson said.

"Well, I guess we're safe as long as we're of use to them," he finally said. His face was still flushed, but he seemed to be feeling slightly better having eaten the power bar.

"Aye... Lets hope so."

"Don't suppose they'll let us go after we help them?" Rodney added as an after thought.

Carson smiled, "That my friend, is the big question that I haven't dared ask, but we'll wait till we're in their village and see what's facing us, then bargain with them for our freedom."

Somehow even Carson wasn't hopeful about that happening . . .

The twenty minutes went by quickly and the leader soon called out to them to get up.

Carson got Rodney on his feet and they trudged their way through the forest once more, trying to keep pace with the two men before them.

A light rain started with drops making their way through the trees canopy and wetting the men below. It was making everybody miserable as the trail became slippery with mud. McKay's feet kept slipping making him lean harder on Carson's shoulder. The strain was making Beckett's head ache something fierce. He didn't know how much more of this they could stand.

Rodney had looked terrible earlier and after feeding him a power bar Carson had given him something for the pain. The doctor didn't want to think about what this forced march was doing to his friend's insides, but he knew it wasn't good and that Rodney would pay later for this abuse

The leader came to an abrupt halt as both he and the man beside him drew their weapons, slowly looking around the wooded area in search of something.

Stopping as well, Carson once again had a sudden feeling of dread. He tried to look around and continue to support McKay. The three men behind him were also surveying the surrounding woods, guns drawn and ready for trouble.

"What's happening?" Carson asked in a hushed voice, not wanting to give away their position. Rodney beside him had his head hanging down, barely able to stand.

The man who had helped them earlier, came up beside Carson.

" It's the Skaars. They're hunting us. They are testing us now . . . they'll wait and attack once they have us surrounded. Run when I tell you, that way they can't herd us together."

Carson looked at him aghast, "You can't be serious! ... I have an injured man here . . . just how far do you think we can run?"

The man didn't look at him, "As far as it takes to save your lives, these animals are out for blood. They can smell it."

It was said bluntly as the man continued to look around the area for any sign of the animals that were tracking them. If he felt any empathy for their prisoners, he hid it well.

"I need my weapon, so I can at least defend us! ," Carson angrily demanded.

The leader hearing them talking, walked back to where they stood, "There's no need, we'll take care of you."

Carson snapped at him," You'll have to forgive me for not believing you, since you threatened to kill my friend,"

The leader smirked, "You'll just have to trust me."

He then spoke to the man next to Carson, "Keil, watch out for them."

"I will, Turi," Keil quickly answered and nodded at Carson trying to reassure him.

Beckett sighed, not wanting to be left so helpless, but having no other options, since they truly were at their captors' mercy. He would have to protect Rodney for he didn't trust these people. Somehow he knew that he and Rodney would be used as cannon fodder if it came to a life or death struggle.

He turned to McKay, who had been trying to follow what was being said, but was having difficulty just remaining on his feet.

"Rodney, we may have to run for it, our friendly beasts are back. Seems they want dessert and we're to be it. So be ready to run if I say so . . . I want no arguments."

McKay slowly lifted his head and looked at him, "This just keeps getting better and better! Remind me again why I volunteered to help you."

Carson smiled lightly at the snark, "Because we're friends and you enjoy my company?"

"Oh, please, that's just trite . . . , "Rodney practically snarled at him, angry they were in this situation.

"I try, but you're a tough bugger to deal with," Carson snapped back, outwardly nervous and not wanting to deal with McKay's anger right now.

Rodney's eyes widened in disbelief, "We're about to become dog chow and that's all you can say?"

Keil had heard enough, he pushed McKay to get them moving. "Let's go. We need to get ahead of them if we can."

The scientist shut up, trying to bite back the sharp pain he felt shoot through him. The painkillers were slowly wearing off and the shove had not helped. Now was not the time to ask Beckett for more and besides, he needed his wits about him if they were to survive this attack. Carson was no John Sheppard and their survival was once again beginning to look doubtful . . .

8888888888888888888888888

The villagers on planet xm-32434 had never even heard of the ancients, never mind seeing a ship come through the 'sacred circle' as they called it.

Lorne was ready to pull his hair out after telling the tribal chief for the third time, that, 'No, Lorne and his team weren't Gods,' and 'Would he please get up off his knees and just answer the question.'

The Major wanted to leave and continue their search elsewhere instead of wasting time with these primitive people.

Just like Sheppard, he had this bad feeling about what might be happening to McKay and Beckett. Those two always seemed to get into trouble. Carson was likeable, McKay on the other hand was a piece of work, but underneath all that arrogance and bluster was a very smart man. Lorne had developed a genuine respect for the acerbic little scientist and actually began to like him as well.

Somewhere along the way, they had come to an understanding, managing to exchange good-natured barbs without any hard feelings after. Lorne could live with that and worked well with the scientist.

Lorne's commanding officer, Colonel Sheppard, had long ago seen through the arrogant McKay facade and the two were kinda friends most of the time. However, even Sheppard seemed to have a McKay quota and would avoid the scientist if necessary to get some piece and quiet. Everyman has a limit on what they can stand and McKay often pushed the envelope.

The first time Lorne had been with McKay on a mission, he'd lost the scientist to a drug crazed Ford. Sheppard never said anything about it, but Lorne knew if the Colonel had, it wouldn't have been good for his career. Fortunately that had been one of the times that Sheppard was tuning McKay out and the Colonel was too involved with capturing Ford to worry about what happened with the scientist.

Colonel Sheppard was a good officer and well liked as he watched out for his men and friends. Lt. Ford had been Sheppard's SIC, as well as team member and friend. When McKay went missing, getting Ford back appeared to take priority over finding the scientist. It seemed a little cold at the time, but Lorne suspected that Sheppard didn't think Ford would harm McKay and therefore wasn't worried.

After that, Lorne watched out for the scientist whenever he was on a mission with him, not wanting any harm to befall the acerbic man. Lorne didn't think the Colonel would be so forgiving a second time if something happened to McKay.

Finally, he'd lost his patience. Lorne put his hand up, palm facing the tribal leader, "Enough, we're leaving!"

He turned around and gathering his team, marched back toward the Stargate. The tribal chief along with his village were all still on their knees as they watched Lorne and his men enter the Stargate then disappear.

No one knew what to think . . .

8888888888888888888888888888

It was raining harder now, making the going tougher. Rodney was barely able to keep up with Carson as they hurried down the path behind their two captors. Slipping on the wet ground, he squelched the urge to cry out in pain after landing hard on his left foot, jarring his injured ribs.

"Carson, quit acting like Rambo! We need to slow down, I can't do this much longer . . . "

"Would you rather I leave you here to play with the doggies, Rodney?"

"Of course not! I just can't keep up. That's all!" he gasped. Rain continued to run down his face making it harder to see.

"It's not like we have a choice, 'March or Die' comes to mind . . . ," Carson was quick to reply, also having to blink away the water that was getting in his eyes.

Sudden noises and barking from both sides of the trail made the two men in the lead come to a halt.

"Scatter, it'll confuse them and we can get a better shot at them," Turi yelled out as he ran off to one side and the other man went to the other side of the path.

Carson ran to the right, dragging McKay with him. The ground was slippery and the two had trouble making their way through the undergrowth that tried to tangle their feet, but somehow they managed to stay upright.

To his credit Keil followed close behind them. When two skaars followed, Keil turned and shot one before the other leaped on him and took Keil down.

Beckett didn't wait around. He pulled McKay along with him through the woods heading away from the gun shots and the men's cries of pain. Keil was no longer behind them, but Carson wasn't about to put them back in harm's way by going back. He kept running and Rodney was right beside him, somehow keeping pace. Fear of dying could do wonders . . .

They hadn't gone far when Carson heard the sounds of gunfire cease. He stopped and for a moment considered going back. When he heard a noise from something coming through the woods fast, he turned to Rodney, whose eyes widened in alarm. Even he had recognized that sound . . .

"Run!" was all Carson got out as they started to run.

They covered ground quickly, but the area ahead of them looked open, no trees. When they arrived there, they found the embankment of a river that was at least ten feet below them. Carson turned and looked back at the direction the noises were coming from, the animals were getting closer. McKay, stood beside him trembling, his eyes fearful as they waited.

"We're so dead," was all he could say in a shaking voice.

Carson's eyes widened in terror when he saw the pair of skaars spring from the woods, coming directly at them, jaws open and ready to attack.

"Not yet, we're not!," he yelled as he grabbed Rodney's arm, pulling him with him as he leaped off the embankment and into the air over the river.

Rodney unprepared for the fall, screamed in fear as they fell toward the water below...

888888888888888888888888888

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

**How To Save A Life**

**by The Watch Stander**

Thank you to everyone for your reviews! I know this is short, but I don't want to go too long without posting something. The next one will be longer. Had to put up over 100 storm panels on our house! Hurricane season is now here.

**Chapter 7 - Over the River and Through the Woods**

888888888888888888888

Carson hit the water backwards, knocking the air from his lungs. Sinking he gasped in shock from the coldness of the water and instantly regretted it as he swallowed what felt like copious amounts of water. The current continued to pull him along, making it difficult to swim and reach the surface. McKay was no where to be seen and right now it was all he could do to just try and stay alive. He continued to swim, hampered by his heavy pack and wet clothes. When he was almost at the surface, his head struck something hard then his world faded into blackness. His body slowly sank and was once more pulled along by the river's current.

Falling fast, Rodney barely had time to scrunch himself into a ball, as he had so often done as a child, when swimming in his aunt's pool. Doing cannon balls off the diving board had been his favorite form of entertainment; causing Jeannie to scream in delight when he hit the water and it splashed all around him.

This time he did it in the hope of preventing a broken leg, if the river was shallow. Fortunately it was deep and he sank like a rock, weighed down by his heavy pack and water soaked tack vest. It was a struggle to reach the surface as sharp pains continually shot through his insides in protest, but he continued to swim, knowing he would drown if he didn't.

Surfacing, he coughed up the water he had inadvertently swallowed, causing his ribs to ache from the strain. After getting his throat clear and air back into his lungs, he attempted to look around for Carson. Large rain drops continued to pelt his face, making it impossible to see five feet ahead of him as he was swept along. Completely helpless, he was unable to avoid colliding with numerous underwater rocks on his way down river. It was all he could do to keep his head above water as the current carried him along at a swift pace.

A sudden collision with a boulder in the river, knocked the wind out of him. Bright lights flashed through his head when his side took the worst of the hit. The excruciating pain that followed made him want to curl up and die. However, the instinct to survive overcame it and he pulled his head up out of the water, coughing, while being swept downstream, away from the rocks.

Time seemed to pass slowly, the cold water making him numb and bleeding away what little reserves of energy he had. Slowly his body started to feel like it was shutting down and he was just about ready to give up, when he was swept near a tree that had fallen into the river. Desperate, he made a grab for its branches. The movement hurt, causing him to gasp in pain, but he got hold of a branch and managed to pull himself closer to the trunk. Once there he was able to catch his breath and ride out the waves of pain that racked him. It took him several minutes to recover and regain his senses, but he was still cold and his whole body continued to tremble.

What happened next made him believe there really must be guardian angels, for after feeling something soft bump against his back, he turned and discovered Beckett caught in the branches behind him, floating face down.

"Carson! ," He cried out, as he grabbed the unconscious man's arm and pulled his head out of the water. Beckett was unresponsive. His face pale and blood ran freely from a head wound.

Rodney's heart practically stopped as he felt for a pulse and found one, "Oh, Thank God!"

Finding his friend alive was the best thing that could have happened to him. Wiping his eyes, he choked back the emotion he felt and took a breath to try and calm down. Now he needed to get them to shore.

Grabbing Carson by the tack vest, he proceeded to pull him behind him. The strain on his side sent more spikes of pain through him as he slowly made his way toward shore. He was pulling them along using the tree's branches, when his feet finally came in contact with the river bottom. It then became easier to pull Beckett's dead weight through the water.

His legs felt like lead when he finally reached the Rivers' edge and pulled the doctor out of the water. Exhausted he dropped to his knees and fell face first onto the shore. Lying there panting, he tried to catch his breath as his whole body shook from the strain he had put it through. A little voice kept telling him that Carson still needed help and this made him push himself halfway up off the ground and crawl over to where his friend was.

Once there, he removed Carson's pack and vest, then used his hand to push down on the Doctor's back hoping to expel any water from his lungs.

It took several tries, but his reward was a loud cough from the man, as water suddenly spewed from Beckett's mouth. Exhausted, he slowly let himself fall onto his back, beside the still unconscious Doctor.

Rodney lay there gasping for air, hurting so much that he almost wished he was dead, so that it would end. A sudden coughing spell sent his insides into spasms of agony, making him cry out as he wrapped his arms around his sides and bright flashes of light assaulted his brain. When the coughing finally stopped and he was able to breathe again, he wiped his mouth with his hand and found blood on it.

_Oh God, this is bad_ . . .

88888888888888888888888888888

John sat in the cafeteria, hands clasped around a coffee mug as he stared at the table. He had been up for more than 24 hours and looked it. The only thing that seemed to be keeping him on his feet was the 10 cups of coffee he had drank in that time.

Now he knew why Rodney was always so wired, as even he felt the effects from the caffeine. Unfortunately, it didn't numb the worry he felt inside, knowing that his friends were still out there and there wasn't a dam thing he could do about it. It was going to take several days to visit every planet that was listed in the buffer and he knew it.

He felt a hand briefly rest on his shoulder as Elizabeth came around the table and sat opposite him, placing her cup of tea before her.

"John, you look exhausted, have you had any rest?" she asked softly, concern on her face for the dark circles under his eyes made her think that he hadn't. She was also worried about the two men and hadn't had much rest either.

"I got a few winks in the jumper, when we doubled up with Lorne's team earlier today," his voice was soft and sounded defeated.

Elizabeth knew how much he liked Carson and Rodney was his friend and team mate. John and Rodney would fight like two little boys, but underneath all that was a strong friendship, even though neither of them would ever admit it.

"Exhausting yourself is not going to help find them any faster, John. Rodney wouldn't want you to do that and Carson would be very upset with you."

John sighed, remembering what lengths Rodney had gone too in the past to find his team, almost dying when he took an overdose of wraith enzyme. It had seemed crazy to John when he'd found out what he'd done, but now it didn't seem that way, knowing firsthand how desperate you become when you feel helpless.

If he stopped to sleep, it might delay finding the two men and even now it might be too late to save them. He looked at her with sadness in his eyes, but there was also determination.

"I can't, Elizabeth, I need to do this. I have to find them . . .

8888888888888888888888888

Carson coughed up water as he slowly opened his eyes. When he was able to focus on his surroundings, he also became aware of all the aches and pains his body was feeling as well. His head was throbbing and his chest hurt. Lifting his head off the sand, he spotted Rodney nearby, leaning against a downed tree trunk, eyes closed and pale faced. He looked terrible and there was blood on his face.

"Rodney, are you all right?" he managed to croak, afraid that he might not get an answer.

McKay slowly stirred and opened his eyes, looking half drugged. Slowly he became aware that Carson was now awake.

"Finally, you're awake. It's about time! ," He managed to sound indignant, but his voice was very shaky.

Carson smiled at the acerbic remark, so glad to hear it. When he was caught in the river's current and there was no sign of McKay, he had feared that he'd never hear Rodney's voice again.

"Sorry, Rodney, guess I needed a wee nap, after my bath!"

"Right! You take a nap while I do all the work . . . and by the way, you'd better take some of your own advice and drop a few pounds. Hauling your sorry heavy ass out of that water was not fun!"

"Aye..Whatever you say, Rodney . . . Thanks, by the way."

Rodney was still annoyed, "And what kind of an idiot jumps into a river? Whatever possessed you?"

Carson looked sheepish, "I saw it in a movie once," he offered by way of an explanation.

Rodney's eyes narrowed angrily," Listen, you're no Butch Cassidy and I'm certainly not the Sundance Kid, so no more jumping into rivers. We could have been killed!"

"I didn't think we had much of a choice. Would you rather have been a dog biscuit, Rodney?"

"I would have thought of something, if . . . you'd given me time! ," McKay snapped back.

"Well, that's the whole point," Carson said patiently, "There was no time."

Rodney looked down at his feet, knowing what Carson said was true, "Well, just don't do it again! I don't like surprises."

The doctor sighed, his head still throbbed and every inch of him still hurt. He touched his forehead and found that it was bleeding again. Looking over at his friend, he noticed that his head wound was also bleeding.

"We're a fine pair, both bloody useless lying here," Carson stated, wanting to get up to help, but still weak from his near drowning. Exhausted, he let his face rest on the ground as his eyes slid closed.

Anger now spent, Rodney gently leaned back against the tree. His body continued to tremble from the cold and trauma it had been through; too badly injured to fight it any longer, he slumped down unconscious. The day's events had finally taken their toll.

Around them the forest seemed to quiet down as the two men lay there, even the birds stopped their singing . . . something was coming . . .

8888888888888888888888888888888


	8. Chapter 8

**How To Save a Life **

by The Watch Stander

Thank you to all who have read, reviewed or added to their favorites list! You guys are all great!

On with the story of our unsung heroes...

8888888888888888888888888888888

**Chapter 8 - Something Wicked This way Comes**

John wiped his face with his hand, the beard stubble made if feel gritty. Right now it was all he could do to keep his eyes open. He knew he needed sleep, but worry was eating away at him and he doubted he would get any rest. Visions of Carson and Rodney's broken bodies lying in a crashed jumper kept flashing through his mind. The next planet they arrived at was the same as the one they'd just left, nothing there, no sign of McKay or Beckett or their jumper, just empty space and land.

Ronon was sitting in the seat behind Sheppard and Teyla in the one next to Ronon. They were both quiet, their thoughts hidden, as they too observed the empty planet below them.

Major Lorne was in the copilot seat. At the briefing he had seen the weariness in Sheppard and managed to tag along, just incase they needed him to fly them back. The colonel wasn't fooling anyone. He was about to drop.

"Well, I guess they didn't come here, there's no sign of their transmitters and there are no people or villages here either." Lorne phrased it carefully, not wanting to upset the others.

The disappointment reflected on their faces, told him how very close they all were, even McKay was part of their little group. It was a closeness that was envied by many on Atlantis. Ronon and Sheppard were always training or running together and Teyla trained with both men as well. McKay, well, he was there when needed and could be found with them whenever they were at meals. Most of the time he was being teased and made fun of, but let someone outside their team say something nasty about McKay and they would have to deal with Sheppard, who would tear them a new one and Ronon would help. It was nice that they were such a close-knit unit. He envied them that.

He looked over at Sheppard and waited for his answer.

John continued to stare out the front screen of the jumper, well aware of the silence of his team and what the Major had just said. He knew what they were all thinking and the bitterness inside him became more acute.

_He hated this, why couldn't they get a break and find them? What had he been thinking allowing the two men to fly back alone?_

Biting his lip he held back emotions that were rising close to the surface and threatening to show themselves, _he was so tired . . . _

Ronon slowly reached forward and squeezed Shepard's shoulder in a show of support. It wasn't something the warrior normally did, but even he sensed the emotions that were present in the jumper. He knew that Shepard always blamed himself if someone went missing or was killed.

Beckett was important as a friend to them all and McKay, well, he was just McKay. Despite the fact that Ronon constantly yelled at the scientist, he was still very protective of the little man . . . they had developed a mutual respect for each other's abilities.

When John felt the hand rest on his shoulder, he steeled himself, not wanting to appear weak or reveal how he felt to the others. Deciding to call it quits, he started to turn the jumper around.

"Yeah, let's get back. There's another five addresses on our list to check before we take a break."

888888888888888888888888888888

Carson could hear noises. Even though his eyes were closed, he knew they were in trouble. Try as he might he didn't seem to be able to think clearly and force himself to get up. The noise kept getting louder and it made his headache even worse.

Finally he was able to open his eyes in time to see something brown appear in front of his face. It took a few moments to focus before he realized that it was a pair of leather boots. Looking up, he saw Turi staring down at him.

"You didn't die?" Turi said, seeming surprised. "When we saw you go over the embankment we thought for sure you were dead men."

"Aye, I think I am dead and this is hell or maybe it's all a nightmare," Carson weakly replied.

Turi smiled slightly, " It's not and we have to move before the skaar come back." He reached down and helped the doctor get to his feet.

"I have to check Rodney," Carson said as he made his way unsteadily over to where McKay lay unconscious, slumped up against the tree.

Keil was kneeling beside McKay checking his neck for a pulse. He started to stand up as Carson walked over.

"He won't wake up."

Beckett noticed that Keil's arm was bleeding and chose to ignore it, since he first needed to check Rodney.

The whole-left side of the scientist's face had dried blood on it. Holding Rodney's face with one hand, Carson used a med wipe to clean it and discovered that underneath all that blood, his skin was turning black and blue. The same condition applied to the left side of Rodney's torso. When he examined it, he found the area was bruised and turning dark shades of purple. He left the bandages alone as he didn't have enough to replace them. After examining the scientist for any further injuries, he sat back, not liking what he'd found. McKay was running a fever and there was no doubt he'd injured himself internally. The fresh blood on his friend's lips was a dead giveaway. He was also unconscious.

This was fast becoming Carson's worst nightmare, his friend dying and him unable to prevent it.

"You've done a number on yourself, Rodney. You just have no luck at all, Lad."

The scientist always seemed to get hurt. He and Colonel Sheppard seemed to be in the running for the one most injured. It was a contest that Carson hoped McKay wouldn't win. Of all the team, McKay was the most vulnerable; with health issues and lack of combat training, he was always at risk of being seriously injured. Carson knew it and so did Elizabeth, they both worried about the scientist every time he went through the Stargate. Colonel Sheppard did his best to watch out for the acerbic man, but he could only do so much. By rights Rodney shouldn't go off- world, but he insisted on going with his team no matter what. It was a dilemma, one that no one had the right answer for.

Finished with Rodney, Carson finally turned to Keil, who was now standing behind him, " Let me look at that arm."

Turi had been watching Carson clean and bandage the scientist's head wound. When the doctor had finished, he made Keil sit down and proceeded to clean his wounded arm and apply the salve the villager handed to him. The remainder of the bandages was used to wrap Keil's arm.

Turi wondered just what type of men their prisoners were. So far they had seemed relatively harmless. He knew they weren't soldiers, but then just where had they come from? His father, the village leader, would want to know and would relentlessly question them. Turi's conscience twinged at the thought of either of these men being tortured by his father's henchmen. He quickly pushed aside that thought, knowing he had to appear strong, for he was next inline as leader of his people. There was no room for weakness in a leader.

"There you go, Son. That should help." Carson said quietly to Keil.

Keil smiled at Carson, grateful for the aid and kindness from this stranger.

"Thanks," was all he said as he got up.

Looking around, Carson noticed the others had wounds that hadn't been treated.

_They must have come straight here looking for him and Rodney, not taking time to even help themselves first. _

It gave him hope and he thought that maybe they would come out of this all right.

"You lads want me to have a look at your wounds?" he asked. After all, he was a doctor and couldn't stand by if someone was injured.

Turi was impatient, "There' no time for that. We need to leave. The storm is getting worse and we still have a long march."

He nodded to two of his men, who quickly left for the woods as he went to stand near Carson.

"Get him ready to travel, we will have to take him on a carrier, as I doubt that he can walk."

Carson looked at Turi, then back at Rodney. "Aye, he'll not be walking anywhere soon. That's for sure." His voice sounded tired and he felt like hell.

Inside though he knew that when McKay awakened the man would be in a world of hurt. Reaching inside his bag for the vial that still had half a dose of morphine in it, he quickly pocketed it, then stood up to put his vest back on and shoulder pack. If McKay did show signs of awakening on the trip to the village, Carson would give him the shot.

A few minutes later the two men reappeared carrying what looked like a stretcher made of branches and vines. It consisted of two long branches and supports on both ends, tied with rope-like vines. The vines also made a webbing that crisscrossed the entire length. Carson was impressed with the men's handiwork

He helped them place McKay onto the carrier, trying not to injure him further. The scientist never stirred and this worried Carson. He was use to a talkative, irritating and sometimes arrogant Rodney. Right now he wished he could hear his friend being just that. It would be music to his ears. Rodney being unconscious also left Carson in a hostage situation by himself, something he wasn't use to. McKay would have been a help in telling him how to act.

_Looks like I'm on my own . . . _

Once more they started to walk, only this time Carson wasn't sure Rodney would make it. The jostling from being carried alone might kill him and there was nothing he could do. Despair washed over him and he looked down at his feet as he walked, not wanting these men to see his distress.

It started to rain heavily again. The tree canopy above appeared to be thinning out, exposing them to the falling rain. Miserable and wet, they slowly slugged their way through the mud toward the village. Carson thought they all looked like a bunch of drowned rats . . . _he knew he felt like one._

_Now, if only a miracle would happen and a rescue party came for us from Atlantis._

_If only . . . _

8888888888888888888888888888

The rain finally stopped, but it left behind wet soggy mud that made your feet slip out from under you when you least expected it. Carson was bone tired and the second time he slipped and fell, he almost stayed down; wishing for an end to the pain he was in and the awful throbbing that went on endlessly in his head. Just for a moment he felt like giving in to the blackness that was calling him. The ground was wet, but he no longer felt it, just wanted to lay there and never move again.

However, Keil it seemed, had taken pity on him and each time Carson had fallen, Keil had been the one to help him back to his feet.

Carson felt stupid, but thanked the man and once more started slugging his way through the mud.

Fortunately, the men carrying Rodney had better luck, as neither of them had lost their footing yet. It was a blessing, for if it was one thing the scientist didn't need right now was to be dumped into the mud or roughly jostled.

The air was damp and cold and Carson felt chilled through and through. Rodney was faring no better as his clothes were also wet. The cold was slowly leeching the strength and energy from them and there was no fighting it.

Beckett 's head was throbbing, making him dizzy and disoriented. He was about to collapse again, when Turi called for a break. The two men carrying Rodney needed a rest and Carson was beyond thankful for the respite. He sat down heavily beside the carrier that McKay lay on. The doctor allowed his aching head to fall forward as he held his hands clasped before his knees. Taking a deep breath, he remembered that he needed to check his friend to see how he was doing.

Rodney's face was pale and covered with sweat. The fact that his body was trembling as well, meant that he needed food or at least some glucose to get his blood sugar up. Carson rummaged through his own vest and came up with a packet of tablets. Pulling out a water bottle from his pack, he then tried to awaken the injured scientist. McKay moaned, but then slowly opened his eyes, trying to focus on whomever was shaking him.

"Carson . . . what . . . ," was all he could manage in very weak voice.

"Rodney, I need you to take some of these tablets. Your blood sugar is falling and you're in no condition to be fighting that as well."

"Apple d...In my vest . . . ," were the next stuttered words out of the scientist's mouth.

Carson thought he knew what McKay meant and went rummaging through the man's vest pockets for the mentioned item. His search was successful as he found two small containers of apple juice.

"Aye . . . that's what you'll be needing! Good job, laddie . . . ," Carson mumbled out loud.

He opened one and helped Rodney to slowly sip the liquid through the attached straw. The scientist finished one of the containers, but refused the second. His color was still off, but he seemed more aware.

"Save it Carson, might need it later," it was practically whispered.

McKay 's voice being this weak worried Carson, it was not a good sign. They needed to get to the village and soon. Rodney needed to be warm and dry not soaking wet in the cold damp air.

"We'll be in the village soon, Lad. Just keep that in mind and hold on. Are you in any pain?"

Rodney, eyes unfocused, had been staring up at the sky, but he managed to turn and face Carson. "Hurts, but I can manage," he said softly.

Carson smiled, Rodney putting off pain wasn't something he was use to. It was not a good sign. "There'll be none of that . . . You're not fooling me. I'll give you something for it."

Rodney nodded, then closed his eyes. He hurt everywhere, but didn't want to scare Carson.

_I'm supposed to be protecting him, not the other way around. Everything is so screwed up._

How he wished his team was here, then he could just pass out and not worry.

_Instead, I'm stuck on a planet with Carson, injured and helpless, weaponless, and some soldier wannabee has captured us. Just great! Where's Sheppard when you needed him?_

Carson's quiet voice brought him back to reality.

"All right, Rodney. I'm giving you the other half of the morphine. Try to relax and sleep if you can. It shouldn't be much longer and we'll have you tucked into a nice warm bed." Carson tried to smile reassuringly, but even he was feeling the effects of his own injuries and was about ready to collapse as well. Pure Scottish stubbornness was keeping him on his feet. That and the need to keep an eye on his friend and insure that he was all right and not left behind by their captors.

Rodney looked at Carson. He could tell the man was exhausted, yet the doctor selflessly kept worrying about him. It was one of Carson's most endearing qualities, and Rodney envied him that. Everyone on Atlantis loved Carson, while they barely tolerated or just ignored McKay.

Looking at Beckett with sorrow and regret in his eyes, he told him, "I'm sorry about this, Carson. It should be me looking out for you."

Carson smiled and squeezed Rodney's arm, "Don't you worry, we'll get through this . . . Just rest."

Rodney nodded, "Yeah," he sighed and closed his eyes, wishing it was all a bad dream and he'd soon awaken back on Atlantis safe and sound.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888


	9. Chapter 9

**How To Save A Life **

Sorry for the long wait, had to decide just how badly whumped our guys were going to get! Sheppard being beaten up by the travelers on the show was really bad.

Again just to let everyone know I love your comments and reviews! It makes my day!

Here's hoping for a sixth season of Atlantis! Yes!

88888888888888888

**Chapter Nine - Other People's Mistakes**

Since it would take them another hour or so to reach the village, Carson tried to make conversation with Turi. Beckett wanted to know more about what he might be facing with the sick villagers and what the chances of actually helping might be.

"Are there a lot of people ill in your village?" he asked.

The young man was leading the party down the trail and glanced at Carson walking along side of him, "Yes, a third of our people have come down with a disease that we can find no cure for."

"When did this all come about?"

Turi wasn't sure how much he should say about what was happening in his village. His father would want to do that and would not be pleased if too much information was given out.

"My father, our leader, will fill you in about what has happened once we arrive. It is not my place to talk to you about it."

Carson not happy with this brush off , frowned at the man, he needed information so that he could formulate some kind of plan to get him and Rodney back to Atlantis. Basically he wanted to trade his services in helping the villagers for their freedom. This conversation however, was not getting him anywhere.

"Son, I'd like to know what I'm up against, so I can plan on how I may help your people."

Turi shook his head, "You will find out when you get there," he quickened his pace and left Carson behind not wanting to continue their conversation.

Sighing, Carson dropped back to walk alongside Rodney's litter, that was being carried by two of their captors. The scientist's face was pale, the only color it had was from the bruises.

McKay had dropped off to sleep almost immediately after being given the shot of morphine. Carson was actually glad of this as the exhausted man needed rest. Hopefully when they got to the village he would be able to help his friend more. Clean bandages and a warm bed would help a lot.

Carson drew his hand across his own forehead wiping away the wetness there. He was beyond exhausted, but somehow knowing they were almost to their destination helped keep him on his feet, along with the four painkiller tablets he'd swallowed earlier. They hadn't completely masked the pain, but did help alleviate the knifelike-vise that was squeezing his head. He was pretty sure that with a decent meal, water and sleep he'd be a new man despite his injuries.

Looking down at Rodney's still form, he smiled affectionately. The scientist was such an enigma to most people. But to Carson and a bunch of others, he was just Rodney, a man who would always help his friends even while insulting them. He smirked at that thought, if they ever got home, he intended to rub it in that they were saved by the voodoo doctor and not the genius.

_It was something to look forward to... _

88888888888888888888888

Turi led the worn out and bedraggled group into his village just shy of two hours later. The outskirts of the village were surrounded by what might be fields of wheat, but they were certainly crops as Carson could see people working in them. These same people came out to greet Turi and his men looking relieved. They just stared at Carson and Rodney. The doctor didn't get a good feeling about what they might be thinking after he tried to say hello, but no one spoke to him. This went on until they came through the village to a small building that appeared to be located in the center.

It reminded Carson of his mothers's storage shed and didn't appear to be any larger than a two car garage. There were no windows, only slits and a very heavy wooden door with a bar across it. This appeared to be the lock and it didn't give him a warm feeling.

As he stood there a flash of color suddenly went flying by him, straight into the arms of Turi. The small brown haired girl was squealing Turi's name even as he lifted her high and swung her around.

"Turiii! You're home!' she yelled out happily as he lifted her up high.

"Ailee, of course I'm home, did you think I wouldn't come back?" he asked smiling as he set her down safely on her feet once more.

Spotting Carson standing by the carrier, she quickly asked Turi,"Who have you brought back with you?"

Beckett smiled at her, it was hard not to. The girl's happy mood and smile were infectious and contrasted sharply with that of Turi's. She seemed overjoyed, no doubt by Turi's safe arrival. Before Carson could introduce himself, Turi cut him off.

"These are off-worlders," he pointed at Carson first, then McKay. "This one is a healer and the one on the litter is a scientist."

For some reason Turi was keeping his distance, by not using their names. It was a way of detaching yourself, so that you wouldn't get to know someone or start to like them. Beckett found it very odd since they expected him to work with these people to help save the villagers who were ill.

Ailee's face lit up, "A healer, a real doctor?" She asked Turi, then turned back to stare again at Carson. This time Beckett answered her, refusing to be treated as something subhuman.

"Aye, lass, that I am." Carson smiled.

Turi said nothing.

"You've finally come back to save us! Our father will be so glad!" she looked ecstatic.

Carson took a deep breath, not knowing what to say to that.

"Keil, take these men into the holding house and show them where everything is. I need to talk with father and then I'll join you." Turi finally ordered.

Keil nodded and headed toward the building. "This way."

Ailee looked happily up at Carson and immediately stepped forward and took his hand.

" I'll help you make the beds up." She tugged on his hand and Carson found himself being pulled toward the small building. The two men with the litter followed close behind.

Once inside, Ailee proved to be just as helpful as she was energetic. Carson discovered she was Turi's sister and that she wanted to be a healer. It made him smile as she obviously wasn't the least bit afraid of Carson or Rodney. In fact she was fussing over McKay now, trying to change his bandages, clearly upset that he was badly injured.

Even though Carson was watching her, she was very efficient and did a good job in attending to Rodney's injuries. She'd obviously had a lot of practice. The doctor wondered what the scientist would say when he awoke and found out a 12 year old was taking care of him.

"So, what is this disease your village has that you need me to help with?" Carson asked, hoping to get needed answers from her.

She looked up at the man before her and decided to tell him about the disease that had befallen them.

8888888888888888888888888

Turi's father. Jerin, was sitting by the window in his home, looking out over the vast fields of grain that were being harvested by his people. Women worked the fields now since most of the men of the village were ill or dead. He sighed as he once again dreaded the day that he had allowed the strangers to come to his village and bring the disease to his people. All of his days were now spent in this room, knowing what he'd done and regretting it. His oldest son and almost a third of his village were sick or dying. As a people they would not last another season.

Turi walked into the room and immediately noticed how disheveled his father looked. A bottle of drink was on the table and it was almost empty. If his father had drank most of that bottle today he would be in a fowl mood.

After his wife had died, Jerin seemed to withdraw from his family and now with his oldest son sick the man had become even more reclusive. Turi doubted that bringing the new strangers here would stave off that mood. His father could be a cruel man and often blamed others for mistakes made and the fate that had befallen him and the village.

Hopefully the one called Carson could help Turi's brother, Cerwin and the other villagers. Steeling himself for what was to come, he walked further into the room.

"Father, I am back and have brought two men from the ship we saw."

Jerin never turned around to look at him. Turi was use to this treatment, his brother was after all, the chosen one and not Turi. Cerwin was strong and forceful like his father. Turi was softer like his mother had been.

"Who are these strangers and why did you bring them here?"' Jerin was angry, it was the drink talking. Still, he never turned, but continued to stare out the window, waiting for Turi to explain.

Turi shook his head, he hated when his father drank, it would be hard to reason with him. Only his mother had a way of dealing with his father in a drunken state, but she was dead three seasons now. That same season the village crops had failed and many people had died of sickness, including his mother.

Just after that the strangers had arrived and brought what seemed like salvation for the village. Turi's father was considered a hero in that he had saved them all from starvation, for the strangers brought seeds to trade. They also showed the villagers how to cultivate many crops to sustain them through the harsh winters. They had magical weapons for trade as well and Turi was pleased by the one he still carried.

All of this seemed wonderful at the time until later when the disease showed itself and started to fell even the strongest of men. The strangers themselves weren't immune either as they had sickened as well.

Turi chose his words carefully, hoping to be the savior of his people and maybe earn his fathers respect in doing so.

"One of them is a doctor and the other is a scientist. Maybe they can help us."

Jerin turned slowly, "A doctor, did you say a healer?... He could be lying."

"I did, father, and he seems to know what to do with wounds, so he's not lying."

His father looked at him, "Very good, Turi. Take him to your brother first and give him whatever he needs. Make sure Ailee goes with him to observe, so she will learn what to do."

Turi smiled,"Yes, father." He started to turn but was stopped by the older man's voice.

"Did you say the other was a scientist?" His father asked, looking at him puzzled.

"Yes, I did. He was injured, but we also brought him, for the doctor refused to leave him behind."

The sly look that crossed his father's face wasn't lost on Turi. He had no idea what his father planned to do, but it wouldn't abide well for the strangers if they didn't do what they had promised. His father turned back to the window.

Turi left to do his father's bidding.

888888888888888888888

Carson helped Ailee finish washing and changing Rodney's bandages with new ones made from worn material that was clean at least. The village was obviously poor as there wasn't any clean clothes supplied for them to change into, so Carson pulled out a spare undershirt he had been saving for bandages if needed.

Ailee helped him change the Scientist into the clean shirt, by pulling it over McKay's head and carefully putting his arms through the sleeves while Carson supported him sitting upright.

Rodney was starting to show signs of awakening so Carson was very glad they were almost done. He gently lay his friend back on the bed. Rodney was now warm and dry and his wounds had been cleaned as well. Beckett would hold off on the morphine till he knew more about how the scientist was feeling.

Then he turned to Ailee,"You'll make a fine healer one day, Lass." His smile was genuine and covered his face.

Ailee loved the praise from this seemingly kind man and she was also fascinated by his blue eyes and dimples. No one in her village had that color eyes. She blushed then smiled back at him.

"Thank you, I hope to be one someday."

Turi suddenly entered the hut. Carson looked up and immediately noticed the troubled look on the young man's face as he walked over.

"What is it?"

"You're to come with me and Ailee to tend to my brother. After that you will look at the other villagers. My father said for you to be given whatever supplies you'll need to help us."

Carson was exhausted, but he knew they needed to get this done fast so that he could get them back to Atlantis. Rodney was still very pale and needed help that he couldn't provide here.

"All right, off we got then." He tried to smile, "Ailee is a big help, so she can be my new assistant."

Her face brightened at this and she took his hand.

Carson made a move to pick up his medical pack, but Turi took it instead.

They quickly departed , leaving McKay behind with two guards that remained at the door.

88888888888888888888888

Turi's father, Jerin, was not a patient man. He stayed at the window long after Turi left, trying to decide what he would do with the strangers. Finally he called out to one of his men who had been walking past the house.

"Get Danon to help you and be sure that the stranger is alone. Bring him here to me."

The man nodded and left to do as he had been instructed.

Jerin felt a new purpose rise inside him.

_It was time to take action and not just sit here feeling sorry for myself. _

He picked up the bottle and finished off the contents.

_Yes, he would get answers from these men. He would learn the truth before the day was through. _

_88888888888888888888888_

Rodney McKay was comfortably sleeping one minute and the next thing he knew he was being dragged out of bed and not gently.

"What...who are you? Where are you taking me?," he asked, still groggy from the morphine induced sleep.

The men didn't answer, but dragged him out the door between them. He was forced to let them being far too groggy to stand or walk on his own.

Minutes later he was brought into another house and thrown into a chair. It took all his will power not to fall off the seat, but one of the men held onto his shoulder from behind. Preventing him from pitching forward. Every bruise on his body was making it's own protest at the harsh treatment he'd just received.

"What is this? Why am I here? Where's Carson?" Rodney managed to get out before the hand holding his shoulder, jerked him against the back of the chair.

"Shut up! You'll speak when told !" a voice said from behind him.

There was a man standing in front of the window, he turned and looked at Rodney with an insincere smile on his face. "Don't worry, you will have lots of time to talk later."

Rodney really didn't like the sound of that or the man's demeanor. He'd been in enough fights to recognize a bully when he saw one, only this time he wasn't going to be able to defend himself. He was far too badly injured to hold his own against this man and his goon squad. It would probably be better to try and talk first, fight later.

He waited as the man walked over to him.

"Why are you here? Did you think to come and take what isn't yours? Or were you looking to see if my village was still here, hoping we'd all died?" the man asked him.

Rodney looked up at him in confusion, "What are you talking about? We've never been to this world before!"

The man looked at him coldly, "So it's to be lies... so be it then"

He nodded to the man standing behind Rodney , who suddenly felt himself lifted from the chair. The man struck him across the face making his nose bleed and his ears ring. Then he was dropped back into the chair.

Swaying slightly, Rodney covered his face with his hands hoping for a moment to stop his head from spinning.

_This is not good..._

Once more Jerin's voice asked him, "Why are you here? You will answer or we will continue to hit you until you do!"

To Rodney, it sounded like a death sentence. He hated pain and right now he was dealing with about all that he could stand. Being beaten was not going to help. He let his hands fall away from his face, trying to gather his thoughts, but it was difficult as his head was now throbbing.

"Look, the thing is, we came through the stargate. Our ship was damaged by a Wraith dart and we dialed a random address and here we are." His voice was high pitched from fear and exhaustion, but he hoped to make the point that he wasn't lying. " Believe me, if we'd ever been here before I would know, as I assign all the addresses to the teams."

Jerin looked at him carefully, "That's a lie! You or others like you came here before to trade, bringing seeds and things in exchange for what you needed. You also brought this disease with you and then you left! You said you would return and help us, but you didn't. It has been two seasons and many have died with no word or help from you!"

He bent down and looked directly into Rodney's face," So I ask again, why have you returned?"

Rodney sighed and let his head drop back down into his trembling hands.

_I 'm so screwed... _

888888888888888888888888

TBC


	10. Chapter 10

**How to Save A Life **

**by The Watch Stander**

Many thanks to everyone! I'm so glad people are still reading this. Since we have Fay here today I have lots of time to type away, so here's another chapter of whump! Let me know what you think.

8888888888888888888888888888888

**Chapter 10 - Paying The Price**

Carson was surprised by the number of beds that were crammed into one building. There were mostly men in these beds and some of the patients were being tended by women acting as nurses.

Turi nodded to the women he passed as he led Carson to a far bed against a wall. On it lie a young man not much older than Turi. He had similar features, however he was pale and sickly looking. Others in the surrounding beds had the same sickly appearance. Whatever the disease was it seemed to have decimated the number of males in the village.

Carson looked at the young man as he sat down on the edge of his bed.

"I'm a doctor and I've come to help your people. I'll need to examine you, if you don't mind."

Cerwin looked over Carson's shoulder and saw Turi nod. Ailee was beside him smiling.

"All right." Cerwin agreed, if his family members were saying it was ok, than it must be.

Carson opened his pack and pulled out his trusty stethoscope. Without the tools of Atlantis he would be working blind, but he could still check for symptoms and ask a few simple questions.

An hour later he had finished examining Turi's brother and also a few other men from beds nearby. All seemed to have the same symptoms. Loss of appetite, nausea and headaches. These symptoms were eventually followed by hallucinations, coma then death. The women taking care of the patients supplied the latter information when Carson questioned them.

Turi watched as the doctor had checked each patient carefully. He was gentle and caring in his approach to them, taking time to speak with each patient while trying to put them at ease before examining them.

Earlier the women had brought the three of them drinks and bread as refreshments. Carson drank the liquid, but hadn't touched the bread, being too deeply involved in examining his patients. Beckett found the symptoms unusual and not appearing to come from a virus. They were also disturbingly familiar and he would need Rodney's energy scanner re-calibrated to confirm his diagnosis. If it did, they would need to find the source of the problem.

Carson rubbed his eyes with his hands, his headache was back in full force. Way beyond tired, he still got to his feet, determined to find the cause of this so called disease. Sighing tiredly, he put his stethoscope away, gently recovered the patient and looked at Turi.

"I'll need to talk to Rodney. He has a scanner that can help in diagnosing the disease. If it's what I think it is, then you have a major problem."

Turi looked at the exhausted man before him. Here was a stranger that was willing to help them and they had done nothing but treat him badly from the very beginning. He felt ashamed of his behavior. Of all of them, Ailee was the only one who had treated this man with kindness.

"Whatever you need will be done," was all he could say.

"Aye, then lets go see if my friend is awake, we're going to need his help."

8888888888888888

Rodney tried to reason with the man questioning him as best he could, but the constant blows made his head and body throb with renewed pain and it was getting harder to stay conscious, never mind think. Blood flowed freely down the back of his throat and made him choke as he tried to speak.

"I told you, we've never been here before..." he managed to get out before cringing, waiting for the next blow to fall.

Jerin looked at the bloody face of the injured scientist. This man wasn't a soldier, he was soft and should have told them everything by now. Something wasn't right, but he decided to continue the questioning, not wanting to be wrong again. His hatred for this man and the others like him smouldered inside him. It made Jerin want to strike out, the liquor giving him courage to allow the beating to go on. There would be no compassion shown, for his village hadn't received any.

"Let us continue...why did you come here?" Jerin asked again.

McKay hated that voice. He was well beyond caring what they did to him, just wanting it to end. Waves of pain continued to wrack his body and he knew he would pass out soon. Then nothing would hurt anymore.

Instead of answering, he coughed up more blood and shook his head. The next blow took him in the gut and brought excruciating pain to his already injured ribs. Flashes of light tinged his vison causing it to blur. Falling off the chair, he curled into a ball on the floor whimpering in pain. It felt like forever before he could open his eyes again. The first thing he saw was a pair of brown boots walking into his line of sight.

Jerin was beyond angry, not getting the answers he wanted was making him livid. He walked over and suddenly kicked Rodney in the side as the helpless man lay before him. Rodney cried out in agony as knife like pains shot through his insides. It felt like he was dying...

Furious at the lack of response, Jerin was about to do it again when a voice shouted for him to stop.

"Father! Stop! You'll kill him!" Turi entered the room and ran to his father, grabbing his arm to prevent him from kicking the fallen man. "We need him to help find the cure!"

When they had returned to the house and found the scientist missing, Turi had questioned the guards and found out where he'd been taken. Fearing the worst he had run all the way over here.

Carson suddenly came into the room and was horrified by the scene before him. Rodney was lying on the floor, covered in blood and whimpering in pain.

"Bloody hell! What have you done to him!" he yelled out angrily.

When he started to go to his friend, one of the goons grabbed Beckett and struck him a glancing blow on the head, almost knocking him over. Carson might be shorter than his adversary, but he was strong and pissed. He struck back with a right cross that decked the guard.

When the other guard started to come at him, Carson was ready, "Don't even try it !" he said threateningly, ready to take him on as well.

Turi shouted at the guard, "Leave him alone!"

The man backed off.

Carson quickly kneeledby McKay and gently gathered his friend's upper torso into his arms. The doctor's left arm supported his friend's head and shoulders as Rodney's body shook from the trauma it'd been through.

"Easy, Lad, no one's going to hurt you again," The doctor said soothingly trying to reassure the injured man that he was safe.

Carson's heart was pounding, the adrenaline in his system was slowly dissipating, but fear for Rodney was still present.

Bloody, bruised and barely conscious, Rodney's body trembled from waves of pain. Hearing Carson's voice, he buried his face in the doctor's jacket, wanting the comfort and privacy it provided. He hated appearing weak, but was in too much pain to care. The jacket soon became covered with blood that flowed freely from his mouth and nose.

Beckett held McKay closer rubbing his back with his hand to offer comfort. He was furious as he looked up from his injured friend and stared daggers at the men surrounding him.

" He was already badly hurt!... What's wrong with yee?... Ye're worse than bloody animals!" When his Scottish ire was up, his accent thickened.

Jerin indignantly shook off his son's hold on his arm, "He refused to answer my questions!"

Carson looked at him angrily, "What bloody questions?... That's nay an excuse to use him as a punching bag! ...Why didn't ye ask me! "

"You weren't here!" Jerin snarled in reply.

"You're bloody well lucky I wasn't or you'd not be standing there in one piece!"

Turi knowing this would end badly, intervened. "You can talk later, we need to get your friend back to the house. I'll help you."

Carson took a deep breath, "Aye, let's go... Be careful with him... They've injured his ribs again."

Turi took one of McKay's arms across his shoulders and Carson took the other. Together they had to drag McKay out of the room as the man was nearly unconscious and barely able to find his feet. Just before they arrived at the house Rodney passed out and they were forced to carry him the rest of the way.

Ailee was waiting for them inside and cried out when she saw Rodney's blood covered face.

"No... who hurt him?"

"Not now, Ailee! We need water and fresh bandages, go get them!" Turi yelled at her.

She took one more look, then left quickly. Clearly upset, she still followed her brother's orders just the same.

8888888888888888888


	11. Chapter 11

**How to Save a Life **

**by The Watch Stander**

AN: Sorry for the delay Fran refused to go away and Ike was scary.

I also was busy doing a website! Plan on putting some stories there that I don't post here as well as some that I do.

Thank you to all those who reviewed, added this and others to their favorite and story alert list. It makes it all worthwhile.

8888888888888888888

**Chapter 11 - Unforseen Consequences**

Turi was standing there watching when Ailee returned and handed Carson the bandages and a wet cloth to clean his patient's bloody face.

Beckett continued to check Rodney for further injuries. Finding more bruising on his injured side where Jerin had kicked him, made the doctor even more angry than before and he turned to face Turi.

"Your father is a right bastard and a bully! I've a mind to go and beat some sense into that nasty bugger!"

Turi tried not to be offended, but he knew in his heart Carson was correct having been the recipient of his father's drunken rage many a time since his mother's death.

"My father was a great man once, the leader of our village, but since the disease came he has become a broken man, hiding away and drinking. Others here blame him for the disease that has befallen our village, saying that he should never have traded with the strangers. If you can help us then he once again will be able to hold his head high."

Turi watched as different emotions crossed Beckett's face, but the doctor soon turned away from him and finished re-wrapping Rodney's side. After finishing off the bandaging he turned to Ailee.

Carson smiled at the young girl and handed her the wet cloth. After speaking to her softly he stood and grabbed hold of Turi's arm dragging him to the door.

"You and I are going to have a nice little chat outside, where you can tell me all about what's going on here." Carson spoke softly, but his voice told Turi that 'No' wasn't an option.

8888888888888888888888

What felt like a cool cloth swiped across the side of his face followed by the soft touch of light fingers. Rodney couldn't quite understand where he was or who was tending to him this way. His first guess was Teyla or maybe Elizabeth, for a nurse would never be this familiar with a patient and certainly not him. The same touch rested on his cheek as the cloth gently wiped his swollen split lip. He groaned slightly as he tried to bring himself out of the stupor that surrounded his brain. Every inch of him ached and parts of his face that were cut, throbbed adding to his misery. A hundred midgets with hammers were beating on him.

Gentle fingers lightly brushed away hair from his sweaty forehead and it was the touch of a small hand.

_Teyla! It had to be. _He felt like crying in relief, _Atlantis, they must have found me! _

All of what had happened was coming back to him, the crash, injured, the skaars attacking, almost drowning, being kidnaped, the beating and . . . _Carson_!

_Oh, God where was Carson? If they'd beaten him up, then what had they done to Beckett?_

"Carson," he tried to say as he opened his eyes, but his mouth was too dry.

A cold glass of water magically appeared before him and someone held it to his lips while supporting the back of his head. He slurped it down quickly wanting to be able to talk and find out about Carson's fate. Even though his body ached, he forced his eyes t o focus and look at his savior.

To his surprise, it wasn't Teyla or Elizabeth, but a young girl. His eyes swept the room finding it to be the same hovel from _before. He wasn't back on Atlantis_. He panicked as realization sank in.

"Oh, God! Why am I still here?..." he groaned as his head flopped back against the pillow, just trying to talk and breathe was an all out effort.

Ailee alarmed by his breathless outburst asked, "Are you in pain? Should I get the healer?"

Rodney looked at her sitting there holding a wet cloth that just minutes ago felt so cool and welcome against his skin.

"Give me a minute... just need to wake up...didn't mean to be so abrupt with you," he gasped, "I know you're trying to help me."

_Now there was a change that he would never expect from himself . . . saying nice things to a child_.

"I just need to know what's happened? ... Where's Carson?" He finally asked, wanting to know to be sure his friend wasn't in trouble.

She smiled at him, amazed by the blueness of his eyes, _just like Carson's. So pretty to look at, _she wished her people had them as well.

"Carson said to tell you he'd be back in a few minutes. He's just outside the door talking to my brother. They didn't want to awaken you."

She wet the cloth and laid it gently across his forehead.

Rodney closed his eyes and took a shallow breath, but even that hurt and made his insides ache. He would have to wait for Carson if he wanted painkillers. His mind seemed to close out the pain and he drifted back to sleep.

Ailee sat back and continued to watch him, surprised at how different he was from Carson. This man wasn't as nice as Carson, but he didn't seem to be a bad person, certainly not someone who deserved to be beaten by her father's men. She didn't want to see him hurt again, there had to be some way she could help him and Carson . . .

8888888888888888888888.

Carson stood just outside the building, looking at the young man before him who had been telling him about the strangers that had come to their village and somehow brought a disease with them as well.

It sounded unreal, _why would they make both themselves and the villagers ill_. This made no sense to him

"So yer telling me that these people came and traded with you, brought you seed for your fields and gave you weapons as well as helping you plant the crops?"

"Yes, we traded with them in good faith and they seemed happy with the exchange." Turi replied wearily, he was tired of all of the secrecy and just wanted it to end.

"And what might that be that you traded to them?" Carson asked.

"I cannot say. My father has made everyone swear not to reveal it. He fears others like yourselves might try to steal it from us."

Carson looked at him in disbelief, "What kind of promise is that? I need to help your people cure this, so I must have all the facts, laddie, or it won't work!"

"I'm sorry, I can't say and don't ask Ailee either for she won't tell you. We've all given our most solemn word and if anyone breaks it they will die! My father's orders and you know they will be obeyed."

"Aye, sounds like something he'd do. He rules by fear and that is never a good trait for a leader."

"He is both my father and the leader of the village. I must keep my oath to him no matter what!"

Turi was adamant and Carson knew he'd never get him to change his mind.

"We'd better awaken Rodney then, as I'll need his help," he turned away and headed back to the house.

Turi looked disturbed, but decided to follow Beckett, he had no other choice.

888888888888888888888888888888888

Sheppard wasn't a happy man, not having any of the addresses pan out was becoming more and more frustrating. It was more than 48 hours now and there still were no leads as to where the two men had gone. The only option was to continue searching each and every planet that had an address in the Stargate buffer and that was taking too long. If either of them were in trouble, it might already be too late to help them.

John pounded his hand against the jumper wall as he waited for the rear hatch to open. This was his third unsuccessful search of the day and he was exhausted. He practically stumbled down the ramp into the jumper bay.

Ronon came out behind him, followed by Teyla. Both of them felt the same and sympathized with Sheppard. McKay was their teammate and more. He was a member of their family. No matter how many times John would argue or fight with Rodney, it was obvious to both Teyla and Ronon that a deeper friendship lie beneath their snarking. Others wouldn't understand, but their teammates did. John and Rodney were like two brothers, love and hate all rolled into one. John would do anything for any one of them, but Rodney would always come first no matter what John said or how he denied even caring about the scientist. Teyla knew this and Ronon did as well. They both watched out for the scientist, knowing how valuable he was to Atlantis and how Rodney would risk it all if it meant saving one of his team. They truly wanted both him and Carson back safe and sound.

The team left the jumper bay and headed for the mess. All of them needed some food and a break before getting another set of addresses to check.

John sighed, It was going to be another long day . . .

8888888888888888888888888

Rodney felt something shaking him and for a moment he was back in the woods being attacked by the skaars. Startled awake, his eyes shot open with his heart pounding in his chest.

"No!" He shouted as his eyes opened wider and he tried to sit up to defend himself.

"Easy lad!" a familiar voice, beside him said, as gentle hands carefully held him down.

Rodney gasped from the pain that shot daggers through his insides, created by the sudden move to try and sit up.

"Awww, God . . . " was the only thing he could get out, before Carson was looking down at him in concern.

"Rodney, take it easy! It's all right, no one's going to hurt you."

"Carson, what . . . " Rodney wheezed, unable to breathe properly. He grabbed hold of Carson's arm, trying to be sure he wasn't dreaming and clung to it while trying to get his breathing under control.

Beckett smiled at him and gently patted his hand, "Take it easy, I just need your help to calibrate my scanner and yours to allow me to check something."

The scientist looked around him and seeing where he was nodded, still desperately gasping for air.

Carson reached down and helped prop the man up with a few more pillows behind his head. This actually made it easier for Rodney to breathe.

"Thanks," he managed to say as Carson then went over to where their packs were and retrieved the two scanners.

He came back and handed them over to the scientist whose face was pale and sweaty, with lines of pain around his eyes and mouth.

The doctor explained what he needed the scanners for and Rodney adjusted both settings to what would be required. It took him several minutes before he handed both back to Beckett who put them in his backpack.

"That should do it then, I'll be giving ye a shot of morphine to help with the pain."

Carson smiled over at Ailee who was sitting on the other bed watching, "Ailee here, will sit with you while Turi and I check this out."

Over on the other bed, the little girl's face lit up with delight knowing that Carson was entrusting her with his friend's care.

Rodney looked up at Carson, "You'll be careful?"

Carson smiled again, "Of course. You take it easy and don't go getting into any more fist fights!"

The corners of Rodney's mouth turned down as he remembered the beating all too well, "Right."

After giving McKay the shot, Carson covered him with another blanket and tucked it in around him. McKay gave Carson an annoyed look, but it was half hearted as the morphine was beginning to take effect.

"Nighty, night," Carson said with a slight smile as Rodney's eyelids drooped then closed.

A whispered, "Thanks, mom," was all Rodney could manage before dropping off to sleep.

Carson chuckled softly at the reference. Rodney and Colonel Sheppard always referred to him as a mother hen.

He picked up his backpack, looked over at Turi and then headed for the door with the younger man following him.

_It was time to discover what was really going on around here._

888888888888888888888888


	12. Chapter 12

How To Save a Life

by The Watch Stander

Thank you all for being so wonderful in reading this and leaving reviews behind. I can't believe how many like this and put it on their favorites list as well as alert list! That's just so nice!

On with the story of our two unsung heroes!

**Chapter 12- The Good of the Many**

888888888888888888888888

Carson finished scanning his last patient and sat on the chair beside Cerwin's bed. The readings were all the same and it was both a relief and a curse as he knew he could cure almost all of these people, but not without going to Atlantis for the drugs and supplies to do it with. The other problem was finding the cause of the disease and for that he'd need to go back to McKay. He hated having to keep disturbing the scientist, but he'd do it if it meant getting out of here quickly. If Turi and his father wanted a cure they'd have to let them go.

"Turi, I can help all of these people, most of them are in the beginning stages of the disease and I know with the right medicine from my world I can cure almost all of them, including your brother."

The young man had kept silent the whole time that Beckett had gone from one patient to another checking them with the scanner as he went. When he heard what Carson said he smiled in relief.

"My brother will live?" he asked.

Carson sighed as he looked at the pale features of Cerwin, who lay so still on the bed.

"Aye, he will and so will most of the others here."

Turi smiled, a genuine smile, "That's wonderful news! What do you need? Tell me and I'll make sure you have it!"

Carson got up and moved away from the bed where he could talk with Turi. He started to explain...

88888888888888888

Jerin had found another bottle of liquor and had already finished off a third of its contents when one of his men came running through the door.

Jerin didn't look up at him, but continued to stare at the table before him and the drink he had cupped his hands around. His mood was dark, his son had turned against him and was helping strangers.

"What is it?," he demanded.

"I have news! The healer told Turi he knows what the disease is and it can be cured! I heard him say it," he was overjoyed at bringing this news since one of his brothers also had the disease.

Jerin looked away from the drink and almost got up from the seat, "What's that? He's found a cure?"

"Yes, and Cerwin will be cured, I heard him say it to Turi!"

Jerin looked around the room trying to get his mind to grasp the ramifications of this development.

"This is very good! You must go and find out more. Let me know what the doctor needs to help us." His eyes suddenly narrowed, "And be sure it isn't a trick he's playing!"

The man nodded and left. Jerin got up from the table and walked over to the window, the drink now forgotten. For the first time in many months there was hope...

8888888888888888888888888

Carson told Turi that they would need medicines that were on his world and other supplies as well. He and Rodney would leave and he would bring back the supplies and others to help him treat the villagers.

"My father will never allow you to leave! I will go with you and this way we both can bring back the supplies," Turi quickly answered.

_Surely my father will see reason and allow this, it's our only hope..._

"Aye, you'd better tell him, I'll wait here."

Carson knew this was going to be a hard sell. The father was a nut job as well as a drunk and probably would react the same way he had been before, stubborn and arrogant. It was just as well that Turi was the one that would deal with him.

He sat on the chair next to Cerwin's bed and thought about what supplies he'd need. They would also have to check the area for the source of the disease and hopefully be able to do something about it before he left. Otherwise this would all be for naught and the villagers would just get sick again.

88888888888888888888888888

Jerin listened to the information from the man he had sent to find out what was going on. When he heard about the Doctor saying he must leave and get supplies to bring back he slammed his hand on the table.

"No! They will not leave here like the others! They will not come back!"

Turi walked in and caught the last sentence his father said before his fist hit the table.

"Father, we must let the doctor get the supplies, we need that cure!"

Jerin turned on his son, "I said no! He's a liar and is trying to trick us by giving us false hope!"

Turi sighed, he saw the bottle and could smell the alcohol that permeated the air around the table. It explained why his father was in such a bad mood.

_This is going to be difficult_, he then tried to reason with his father.

In the end he told his father he would get Beckett to explain what the disease was and maybe they could help him find its source. Jerin agreed and watched his son leave. He then turned to the his man that had remained in the room.

"This is what I want you to do...",and he explained.

88888888888888888888888888

Carson walked outside the temporary hospital and turned on Rodney's scanner. The signal from the town was very weak and he walked toward the fields of grain. Still, the signal was weak and he shook his head. This just wasn't right. There was something around here that had made these people sick and he was determined to find it.

Ailee came running over and suddenly hugged him, surprising him. "What's this for, Lass?"

"I heard the news that you have a cure for the disease?" she looked at him with sparkling eyes and a wide smile.

"Aye, that I have! News travels fast around here."

"I had to come and Thank you, for you said you can save my brother."

Carson bent down and looked her in the eye," Yes, I can and the others too. I just need to get certain medicines and we'll begin the treatment. I promise you your brother will be the first one I give it to."

Ailee wrapped her arms around Carson's neck and hugged him again, tears starting to flow from her eyes."Thank you, Carson!"

"It's my pleasure, I'm a doctor and it's what we do, save people."

Turi spotted them as he left his father's house and came over, smiling at the way his sister was hugging the doctor. He knew she somehow had found out about the cure.

"My father wants you to explain to him about the disease and why you need to leave."

Carson straightened up and looked at Turi's face reading what he expected to find displayed there.

"Aye, the bugger is a stubborn man, but he'd better allow this or we'll not be saving anyone today."

8888888888888888

Jerin refused to listen to Carson's promise of returning immediately with the drugs. He also refused to allow him to communicate with his planet as well, fearing others would invade this world and take what they had so closely guarded these past seasons.

Carson tried again, "I must have these drugs! This disease is similar to one I have treated on another world."

Jerin looked at him,"What other world?"

For a moment Carson feared that telling him might cause a problem, but went ahead anyhow. "It was a people called the Genii, they had radiation sickness and I was able to save almost all of those effected."

"Genii, you say?" Jerin asked.

"Yes, you've heard of them?" Carson asked back, dreading the answer.

"They were the ones who came here and traded with us. You must be one of them and have lied to us!" Jerin spat at him.

"What! You've no idea what we went through with those fascist wannabees! They invaded our city almost killed Rodney and our Leader!"

"Then why would you help them?"

Carson sighed, "Long story short, they had a military coup and someone new took over. We 're actually friendly now."

"They left us here to die and you call them friends," Jerin was furious.

"Just a minute, remember they had a regime change and anyone involved with you was probably killed during the takeover. I'm not saying what they did was right, but maybe their own problems overrode yours."

"All right, here is my only offer, you will go to your city and get what supplies you need and bring them back. You may bring one other person back with you to help you, no weapons! If anyone else comes through we will kill all of you."

Carson nodded, "All right. I'll just get Rodney ready to go..."

"No! He stays here!" Jerin said softly. "He will insure that you return."

Beckett took a step forward, "What! You can't be serious, he's got internal bleeding and needs help that only my planet can offer!"

Jerin was adamant, "You heard what I said."

Carson looked defeated, this was Rodney's life they were discussing. If he left him he could die, but if he stayed with him here, he surly would die.

"There's one other thing, your people show radiation poisoning which can be caused by different things and I'm at a loss as to what you have here that could be the cause of this. What exactly did you trade to the genii?"

"That's none of your business!"

Carson knew when to quit..."All right we'll cross that bridge later.. I'll give you my answer after I talk to Rodney..."

"There won't be any need to do that, for we've moved him."

"You what? Are you daft! He's badly injured, where is he? You tell me now or there'll be no cure, for I'm not leaving here without him." Carson was furious and started toward Jerin, but was held back by Turi.

Jerin's men were also about to grab the doctor.

"He's where you'll never find him, so I suggest you take my offer and go now... If you don't return in one day's time, he will be killed," Jerin sneered back.

Carson turned away and stomped out the door with Turi right behind him.

Once outside the doctor wasted no time in turning on the younger man,"Where's he taken him, Turi! Tell me now or there'll be no cure!"

Turi decided too much was at stake to let this opportunity to cure the disease fail. He believed Carson, he could see the honesty in the man and how loyal he was to his friend and how caring he was to the other patients. People he didn't even know.

" Trust me when I say, we'll never find him. There are thousands of caves up in the hills just south of here. Even I don't know all the ways in and out of those tunnels. I never worked in them."

Carson's eyes widened at Turi's last words, "Worked? Did you say worked?"

"Yes, we mined them for rocks." Turi said slowly. "We've also used them in the past to hide from the wraith."

"Do you have one of these rocks?"

Turi knew he'd said too much,"Yes, but why do you want to see it?"

The doctor took a deep breath," Because Lad, I think we've found the cause of your disease."

888888888888888888888

Beckett sat on the chair beside a table in the makeshift hospital. He was tired and his head was pounding again. The long forgotten headache having decided to return for a repeat performance and it was outdoing itself this time. He wondered how Rodney was doing.

_Where had they taken him?_

If it was to the mines then he was in bigger trouble for he would be exposed to the same radiation that effected the villagers. Turi had broken down and told him of how half the village had been assigned to help the genii mine the ore that they wanted in trade for their goods and seeds that they had given to his father in trade. It seemed such a good bargain at the time and only after several months of digging had the disease suddenly appeared. The people who were assigned to the mines were the ones that showed the disease first, then others who had served meals and brought water to the workers were also effected. No one had thought about it being the ore that was doing it to them.

Carson had explained what happened when you had too much exposure. Turi's brother had gone in and out of the mines all day long as he oversaw the operation, while others stayed inside and cut rock. Turi was a hunter and with his men helped keep meat on the table for the village. Others worked the fields and with the Genii's help they brought in enough wheat to keep everyone alive through the harsh winter season. This agreement was applauded by all and made Jerin a hero until the disease came.

The fate of Rodney and these villagers rested in Carson's hands and he didn't know what to do.

Voices in the background appeared to be getting louder and suddenly Carson looked up and saw people standing beside patient's beds, holding the person's hand and looking at Carson silently.

_Strange that he had been so self absorbed that he hadn't heard them come in._

All around the room faces stared back at him, men women and children all looking at him with hope in their eyes.

Carson could see the pleading looks that each of them gave him as glanced from one face to another. Finally he dropped his eyes.

_It's time for a decision..., _he told himself

It was a tough choice, but he did it and got up to leave_._

_I'm sorry Rodney_...echoed in his heart.

888888888888888888888888888


	13. Chapter 13

**How to save A Life**

**by The Watch Stander**

Just a short chapter till I get a chance to write the final chapters. Thank you so much to everyone for their kind words and adding this story to their lists!

**Chapter 13 - Into the Den of Darkness**

8888888888888888

Rodney had been unconscious when the men had come for him at the house. He didn't awaken when one of them tossed him over their shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Nor did he so much as stir when they took him to one of the caves in the hills.

He was dropped unceremoniously in a rear area of a cave and when he hit the ground, that finally made him wake up.

After leaving him there, the two men started back through the winding tunnels to the outside. They didn't leave a lit torch or so much as a drink of water for the injured man, figuring he'd be dead soon as Jerin hadn't seemed too interested in his welfare.

Rodney, barely awake, couldn't see very well. The light carried by the men continued to fade, but he heard the receding footsteps and tried calling out out, "Wait . . . " but it was only a whisper and before he could try again the light was completely gone along with the footsteps and he was alone in the dark.

He was lying on his back and tried to sit up. Instantly he regretted the move as his ribs reminded him they'd had enough. Stabbing pains shot through him making it hard to breathe. The morphine was wearing off and all the fun things that had happened to him the past few days were making themselves known sending stabbing pains throughout his body. The metallic taste of blood bubbling on his lips told him he was in trouble.

"Carson, crap! I need to help Carson . . . "

His befuddled mind could only focus on getting out of here and trying to find Carson. He knew the doctor was in trouble, but he didn't seem to be able to move. Everything hurt as his breathing became shallower and more labored. He even tried to crawl along the ground, but that hurt so much that tears formed in his eyes. Finally the stabbing pains became too bad and no matter how much he wanted to find Carson it wasn't going to happen any time soon. He lay there frustrated that he couldn't do anything to help himself never mind save Carson.

Suddenly, he began to gag as blood in his throat choked him and rolling over onto his stomach he spit it out as best he could. The bout of vomiting that followed weakened him as his body began to tremble. It took everything he had just to keep breathing for his lungs didn't seem to be getting enough air. Tears of pain ran down his cheeks as his body continued to shake from the tremors that ran through it.

_I'm going to die here and nobody will ever find me . . . _

Alone, miserable and in pain his body finally said _enough_. His right hand grasped the dirt before him as he passed out thinking . . . _I've failed Carson_.

888888888888888888888888888

Sheppard and his team were on their way to planet M3759's Stargate when the call came through from Atlantis.

"Atlantis calling Colonel Sheppard," Came from the speakers in front of the jumper.

Surprised, John quickly replied, afraid that it might be bad news.

"This is Sheppard."

"John, We've located the planet they're on." Elisabeth's voice was neutral, which could mean anything.

"And?" he waited, dreading what she might say.

"They're alive! Carson's here with me. I need you back here right way. We have a situation that Carson will explain when you return." Her voice was more animated now that she had told him.

John relaxed visibly, his heart stopped pounding as relief washed over him, _Alive, she'd said and that was all that mattered_.

He turned and smiled at his two relieved team mates, Ronon and Teyla who had also heard the exchange.

Whatever the situation was would have to wait til they got back to Atlantis.

"I'm on my way back, see you soon," he answered as he turned the jumper and headed home.

888888888888888888888888888888

Carson was busily preparing to return to the planet, throwing medical supplies into cases when John suddenly came rushing through the infirmary door.

"Carson, how are you? Elizabeth said you'd had a rough time?"

Beckett looked up from the case and John could see the bruises and the bandaged head wound. The doctor looked like he'd been through hell.

"Aye, that we did, but Rodney got the worst of it in the crash and then we were taken as prisoners. It went downhill from there."

John took hold of Carson's arm and made him sit in a nearby chair.

"How about we take a few minutes and you tell me all that's happened," John said softly, knowing from the way Beckett was acting that it wouldn't be good and somehow Rodney was involved.

Carson looked at Sheppard slowly shaking his head, "I need to get back there, Colonel. Rodney's not in good shape. They're holding him somewhere and I didn't get to see him before I left."

John didn't like the sounds of that, "Why?"

Sighing the Doctor decided it would be easier to just tell the colonel a summation of what had happened to them.

John listened quietly while Carson told him what had happened, his face never changed expressions, but his eyes grew colder when Beckett told him about Rodney being beaten even though he was injured.

Seeing the look on Sheppard's face, the doctor hoped that Jerin never got to meet John Sheppard for he doubted Jerin would survive the meeting.

"So, that's why I have to hurry . . . I'm taking one male medical nurse with me."

John looked at him, "That'll be me . . . "

Beckett was taken back by that, "Colonel, you can't come! They will kill us and Rodney if they find out who you are . . . "

"I'm coming Carson. I can play doctor as well as the next man. I won't be armed and I'll hide a wraith stun gun in one of the cases. We can disguise it as a piece of medical equipment."

Beckett shook his head, "I don't like this Colonel, it's dangerous . . . "

"Rodney's in trouble, we need to find him. I'll have Radek set up a scanner to pick up his transmitter's signal. I can slip away and look for him while you administer the drugs," John explained patiently not willing to take no for an answer.

"There may be interference from the radiation if he's in or near those mines."

"Don't worry, I'll find him if I have to search every one of them!" John quickly answered.

Carson shook his head and smiled, "Aye, I believe you would do just that, Colonel."

John Sheppard was a good friend and he cared about his people no matter how hard he tried to hide it. Rodney was one of his closest friends and Carson knew John would search heaven and the Pegasus Galaxy to find him, no matter how many times he denied that he cared about what happened to the acerbic little scientist.

"We'd better go, Rodney's been gone more than six hours and he has internal bleeding. I just hope we get to him in time." Carson's voice caught on the last part, his voice shaky with emotion and exhaustion as he looked down at his feet.

John rested his hand on the doctor's should, "We'll find him, Carson."

Beckett looked up at him, "We bloody well better and they'd better not have hurt him or they'll be hell to pay, so help me!"

John smiled at that, "Hell yeah! I'll turn Ronon on them if they so much as harmed a hair on his head!"

Carson smirked, "Aye, that'll be something to watch!"

John smiled, "You betcha!"

88888888888888888888888888888

Elizabeth rubbed her forehead trying to work out the throbbing pain that had persistently plagued her for the last two days. It seemed to have started the moment she found out the two men were missing. Worrying about them had been a constant thing and knowing that with each passing hour the chances of finding them alive diminished substantially didn't help.

However, two hours ago Carson's IDC had come through and she had been relieved. That is until she saw the condition the doctor was in as he came through the Stargate alone. Her heart sank when she saw the sad look on his face as she hurried down the stairs to greet him. For a moment she thought he was going to tell her that Rodney was dead as she held her breath fighting back the tears that threatened to spill.

In the end she hurried over to Beckett and hugged him as he then told her about Rodney and how he had to go back.

Now Carson was once more leaving, only this time with Colonel Sheppard. She didn't like Carson going back to a planet that tortured injured men, but she had little choice in the matter. The two would take the medical supplies back to the planet and try to save their people as well as retrieve Rodney. She knew McKay was badly hurt, but she had faith in John Sheppard. If anyone could bring Rodney back safely, it would be him. The headache was back again, but this time at least there was hope.

She stood there as the two went through the Stargate, praying they found the scientist in time and that they all returned safely.

88888888888888888888888888888888888

Sheppard allowed Carson to go through first while he remained a few yards behind him, carrying two cases of medicine and supplies and trying to look like a medical person who was stuck with carry and fetch detail. As they came through the gate, several large men surrounded them and checked them for weapons.

Carson was angry and that helped as the men were familiar with him and would focus more on his tirade then on John, who looked at them helplessly. It seemed to work as one of the men opened the two cases and barely went through it. John stood there with his arms at his sides, trying to appear nonthreatening. The long white medical coat he wore also helped. It made him look ridiculous.

"Aye, you've seen all that there is, now let's get to the village so we can save some people. I haven't all day to waste with yee!" Carson admonished the two guards.

Carson was never nice when his Scottish ire was up and right now he was pissed at the two men for holding them up. His anger also helped to cover up the nervousness he felt at having Sheppard with him.

Two of the men were the same ones that had been with Jerin and there were three others that Carson didn't recognize. They had weapons trained on the Atlantians and were very large men. Even Colonel Sheppard wouldn't be able to take all of them down.

Satisfied that Carson and Sheppard were no threat, they finally headed out and Carson took his first real breath, still praying that they would be in time to save his friend . . .

88888888888888888888888888


	14. Chapter 14

**How To Save A Life**

**by The Watch Stander**

An: Thank you to everyone! Your kind reviews have made this a joy to write. This will only have a few more chapters and then it's on to another adventure. I'll try to have this done this week.

**Chapter 14 - Salvation**

Carson and Sheppard were led to where the sick were housed and once again the doctor was confronted by faces looking up at him for some measure of hope that their family member would be cured. Turi was there sitting with his brother and he had a slight smile on his face when he saw Carson enter.

"You came back!"

"Aye, I told you I would come back to help." Carson said softly, then took a deep breath, "Have you news of Rodney?"

Turi shook his head, but his eyes said something different. Carson wondered what he was concealing and hoped it wasn't bad news.

John watched the interaction between the two men, wondering what was being left unsaid. He still had to come up with a plan to find Rodney, but first needed to get an idea of what he was up against. The guards who had brought them here were in the room, but had fanned out along the walls where they could watch them.

Three of the men suddenly left the room, leaving just two behind to guard them.

_Now would be a good time to take a scan_, so John took out the adjusted scanner and walked over to a patient and pretended to check him with it. Unfortunately there was no signal. Rodney's transponder wasn't showing up. John flipped a switch on the scanner and his and Carson's transponder showed on the screen, but not Rodney's.

Carson noticed what Sheppard was doing and was disappointed when John shook his head slightly indicating no luck.

The doctor turned back to Turi, "Well, let's get started. I'll give the medication to your brother first, then we'll go down each row, that way no one gets left out."

John helped by taking out the supplies, being careful to leave the stunner inside the small case where it would be out of eyeshot. It was too soon to hope for results in locating McKay, but he knew that time was not their friend. Rodney's life was at stake and time was of the essence in finding him.

As they made their way down the rows of patients one by one, Carson would give each patient a pill or a shot and then talk softly to the family that was there, giving further instructions on how to care for the patient. Many of the families thanked him, even hugged him when he gave them news of their family member's condition and that they would survive.

John thought Beckett was the best doctor he'd ever met. His kindness toward these people was above and beyond the call, especially after what he and Rodney had gone through. Sheppard wasn't sure he would be so forgiving if it had happened to him.

They had just started down the third row when a little girl came running in and quickly went to Carson.

" Carson, you're back!" She immediately hugged him.

She seemed so relived to see him it made both John and Carson smile.

"Lass, what is it you need? I can't believe this is all for me?" Carson disentangled himself so that he could look at her face.

"Ailee, Lass, what is it?" Carson asked, when he saw the upset look on the little girl's face.

"A man has fallen in the field and can't be moved! One of you must come to help!" She looked from him to John and then at her brother.

Turi came up beside Carson, "One of you go, I'll stay here and help give out the medicine."

Carson saw that same look on Turi's face that he wanted to say more, but couldn't, as they were within earshot of one of the guards.

"All right. Sheppard, go with Ailee and see what you can do to help." Carson looked at John and then tapped his ear with one finger, "Just let me know what you find."

John caught on and nodded, knowing the radios had been carefully concealed in the cases with the bandages where no one had discovered them. He picked up the bag that held his radio and stunner, then quickly left with Ailee.

Carson watched him go and then turned his attention back to his patient. He would put his radio earpiece on in a few minutes pretending it was part of his medical equipment and hoped no one would be the wiser.

Turi looked at him, "I hope they get there in time," was all he said as he turned away.

Carson wished it as well . . .

88888888888888888

John followed Ailee out of the house and down the road toward the fields that he had walked by earlier when coming from the gate. Once they were out of sight of the house the little girl slowed down and walked along beside him.

"I know where McKay is. When my father's men took him from his bed, I followed them. I came back and told my brother, but he and my father had argued and Turi was being watched. When we heard that two of you had returned we decided the story of an injured man in the fields would be a good way to take one of you to where he is."

John smiled at her, clearly worried by what he remembered Carson telling him about Rodney's injuries. "That's great news, hopefully he's still alive and we get to him in time."

Ailee looked stricken, "Please, I don't want him to die!"

Sheppard immediately wished he had phrased that better, "I'm sorry! Look, Rodney's stubborn, he won't give up that easily. He's been in worse situations."

"He can't die, he and Carson have done nothing wrong, I won't let them hurt him again!"

She was obviously still upset over all that had happened to the two men. It made John smile slightly, knowing Rodney had won the little girl over so that even she was ready to protect him. It amazed him sometimes how people just liked and accepted McKay the way he was.

"We'd better go, or someone may get wise and come after us. You lead the way and I'll explain my plan as we walk." He smiled at her and was gratified when she smiled back.

_Now if everything else were so easy . . . _

88888888888888888888888888888888

Rodney heard distant voices, but when he tried to open his eyes, he found nothing but darkness surrounding him. His mind grappled with all that had happened as his memory slowly returned.

_Dumped here by two men, then left behind. I wonder if they are coming back to finish the job . . . _

Every inch of him hurt, but he was beyond caring, only wishing that it would be over soon. Darkness called to him again and he felt himself falling.

88888888888888888888

Sheppard followed Ailee down the winding tunnel of the mine as she held a lit torch showing the way. He had the stun weapon in hand ready to use it if they found anyone there guarding McKay. He didn't know whether he'd find Rodney dead or alive, but somehow he had to get ready to deal with either scenario. It still left him with a knife twisting inside him.

Carson had told him about Rodney being injured, but he wasn't prepared for what he found on the ground, just at the end of the tunnel.

A grey lump, wrapped in tattered clothes and bloody bandages lay beside a small pool of blood.

"McKay!"

John wasted no time in quickly kneeling beside Rodney and checking his neck for a pulse. It was weak, but there.

The fear that had been inside John moments before seemed to abate as he realized that his friend was still alive. Carefully he turned the injured man over. Then after checking his injuries, pulled out a medical wipe from the case and carefully cleaned off McKay's bloody face. The bruising from the beating was starting to turn black and blue, but the blood that was pooled beside him worried John. It meant there were internal injuries and bleeding.

Ailee had looked on wide eyed waiting for John to say something."Is he all right?" she finally asked.

"He needs help." John reached inside the case and pulled out the radio. He handed it up to her.

" Remember what I told you earlier?"

She nodded. "Yes."

John stood up and after searching the walls found another torch. He used Ailee's to light it then handed it back to her.

"Good, take this radio outside and push this button three times."

She nodded then left to follow the instructions he had given her on the way here.

Once more he kneeled down next to McKay, who lay still as death. Using a bandage with water from the canteen, he wiped it across the injured man's face. The cold water made McKay's face twitch slightly making John smile in relief. He used more water and finally Rodney showed signs of waking.

As Rodney came to he started to cough and blood appeared on his lips. John carefully sat the scientist up, leaning him against his shoulder while holding the canteen in front of McKay's face.

Everything was hazy at first and then Rodney felt the warmth of an arm around his back and realized someone was with him. Thinking it was Carson, he opened his eyes and for a moment thought he was dreaming when John's face swam before him.

A sudden coughing fit and the taste of blood in his mouth afterwards made him realize this wasn't a dream. The coughing weakened him and his whole body began to shake.

"Here, McKay, take a drink and rinse out your mouth..." John held the canteen to the man's lips, who did as asked, then spat out the water to the side.

"Better?" Sheppard asked as he supported Rodney, holding the trembling man a little tighter against his shoulder.

The scientist could only nod, then took another sip from the canteen. Finally he was able to talk....his breath coming in small gasps, "You came...."

John smiled, "Of course! Did you think that I wouldn't?"

Rodney, looking down, shook his head, talking was painful, every breath he took set his chest on fire.

"No, ... wasn't sure you'd find us..." Suddenly he gasped, his

blue eyes widening in fear as he frantically looked up at John, "Carson! You have to find Carson!"

"Easy, who do you think brought me here? Carson came through the gate and told us everything that had happened. He's down in the village helping with the sick."

John tried to calm him, not liking the paleness of Rodney's face or the traces of blood that kept reappearing on his lips when he talked.

Rodney looked at him sadly as he comprehended what Sheppard had just said.

"Why didn't Carson come for me sooner?" His voice shook showing the hurt of knowing that he had been left here alone for so long.

Sheppard tried to lighten the mood," Maybe because you forgot to leave a forwarding address and a new phone number."

"What?", McKay eyes widened, then he looked at John as if the man had lost his mind.

Sheppard felt guilty for teasing him, "Never mind, we need to get you out of here."

Rodney slowly leaned heavily against John's chest, grabbing a fistful of the pilot's coat as if to fight off a sudden pain, "Wish I could, ... don't think I can move... I tried, even crawled." His voice was barely above a whisper, showing just how weak he was becoming.

Sheppard sighed as he looked down at McKay, "I know you did....", he didn't get to finish as he could hear the sound of voices coming down the tunnel.

"Colonel Sheppard!" a voice called out.

John turned and shouted back, "Down here, Lorne."

Earlier when John and Carson had come through the stargate, a cloaked

Jumper flown by Lorne had followed. The Major had landed it near the hills with orders to wait for Sheppard's signal. John had explained his plan to Ailee on the way to the mine. She had used the radio to send the signal from outside the mine where there wasn't any interference.

"Hang on, Rodney, the calvary's here . . . " John started to say, but when he looked down at McKay, he found him unconscious, face pale and sweaty and the scientist was having trouble breathing.

John called out again, "Hurry!"

888888888888888888888888


	15. Chapter 15

**How To Save a Life**

By The Watch Stander

**AN**: Almost done! Thanks to all who left reviews and added this story to their lists!

**Chapter 15 - Scottish Wrath**

88888888888888888888888

Jerin turned on the man, who had just entered the room and given him the news, that McKay was now missing from the caves.

"What do you mean he's gone? How is that possible?" Jerin shouted angrily.

The henchman looked chagrined,"I don't know, but Ailee took one of the doctors to see to an injured man in the fields earlier. Maybe our own people helped him to escape."

"You fool, no one has been injured, I would have been told!" Jerin was livid.

" We'll get to the bottom of this, we need that man as leverage to get what we need. Without him as a hostage we have nothing to force them to help us! Let's go and find out from this Carson where he's been taken."

888888888888888888888

Carson had just finished with administering medicine to most of the patients in the room and he had a good idea of how many would need further treatment that included surgery.

He turned to Turi beside him and started to explain what would be needed.

"Turi, some of these people including your brother are in need of surgery. I have to remove what is known as a tumor from several of these people including your brother. Many of the Genii had the same tumors and we were able to cure them."

Seeing the confused look on the younger man's face he continued to explain, "It's a growth inside that is caused by exposure to the radiation from the mine. Some have small tumors, while others have larger ones, but I need the facilities of my infirmary. We can't do the surgery here."

Turi thought about what moving people off world would entail and frowned, "My father will never agree to this."

Carson sighed, "Aye, but what choice does he have if he wants your brother to recover and the rest of the villagers as well. I'm sure if you explain it to him and the other patient's families we can get him to agree."

"I'll talk to Cerwin and see if he can sway my father, he always listens to my brother and it is his life we're talking about."

Carson was wearing his radio and a sudden voice in his ear startled him, "Carson?"

"Colonel?"

"Listen, we have Rodney, but he's in a bad way, we need you. Come outside and we'll land the jumper and pick you up."

Turi stared at Carson, puzzled as to who he was talking to. The doctor was about to explain as well as answer the Colonel when a man shouted at him from across the room, "Where have you taken him!"

It was Turi's father.

Carson, quickly spoke into the mike, "You'd best hurry then, Colonel, as we're about to have a brawl here and I can't promise who will win."

"On our way, Carson", was Shepard's reply, his radio had picked up the shout from Jerin.

Turi stepped forward trying to cut off his father before he could reach Carson, but was pushed aside by him as Jerin made his way toward the helpless doctor.

"You tell us now where he is and we'll let you live!" Jerin threatened as he stood before Carson. Two of his henchmen backed him up and Turi came to stand beside Carson, who was now getting angry.

"Will ya now, how big of you. First you beat Rodney and then you dump him somewhere where I can't help him and you think I'll let you have him again?"

Jerin was furious, his breath reeked of liquor, but Carson was not about to say anything about Rodney's rescue, he only needed to stall for time and Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne would soon be here.

"Who do you think you are, treating people this way that have been trying to help you! Easy to beat on an injured man, but how about someone who can fight back?" Carson spat at him, now furious.

Jerin smiled nastily, the liquor giving him false courage, "All right, try it and we'll see who wins!"

Jerin signaled his men to back away, then turned back to face Carson.

"This will be between you and me!"

Turi started to say something, but Carson pushed him aside, "No, this has to be done."

Carson waited while Jerin seemed to ready himself, then suddenly the bigger man came at him. Beckett was ready and used his right fist to catch Jerin on the jaw sending him sprawling to the ground. Some of the doctor's anger was released by seeing this man humbled before him.

Jerin slowly got up and this time came low as he charged at Carson, who quickly stepped aside and tripped Jerin with an outstretched foot. The alcohol had made the big man clumsy and uncoordinated.

Once more the larger man was on the ground and looking up angrily at Carson, who was obviously smaller, but far more agile.

"I'll kill both you and your friend for this!" Jerin sneered as he tried to stagger to his feet, but couldn't seem to get up.

Carson looked down at Jerin with contempt on his face, "Will ya now?... I seriously doubt that! Ya nothing but a wee little man that has fallen into a bottle. That's where ya courage comes from, so I suggest ya go hide there."

Jerin looked up at the faces of his men and son, who were looking down at him with pity. He looked away, ashamed now that the reality of his position had sunken in. He wiped his face with his hand.

People had wandered over to see what was going on and Jerin was now surrounded by his some of his villagers, who seeing him on the floor also had pity on their faces.

Turi spoke up, "Father, it's time to let someone else take over for you till you feel better."

Jerin slowly nodded and looked down at the floor, defeated.

Sheppard, Lorne and Ronon came through the door at that moment and overhearing the conversations, made their way towards the group.

Ronon seeing the larger man on the floor and Carson standing over him smiled, "Good one, Carson."

Carson smiled slightly embarrassed, but pleased that it had ended with no bloodshed.

The villagers looked fearfully at Lorne and his men, not knowing who the armed men were with Sheppard. Jerin's henchmen were also on guard as well.

Beckett tried to calm the situation and addressed everyone, "I need to go see to my friend, but I will be back. Turi will explain to you what is needed and I'll return to explain to each of you the treatment needed for your family members. "

He turned away and quickly left with Sheppard and the others following, not wanting to waste anymore time that he could be helping Rodney.

88888888888888888888888888

Teyla was sitting with Rodney inside the jumper, wiping his face with a cool cloth when Beckett and the others arrived. The doctor immediately took her place and went to work checking on his friend's vital signs as Lorne prepared the jumper for takeoff.

The Marine medic had Rodney hooked up to oxygen and an IV, but he was still unconscious and very pale. His breathing labored. Carson was worried, Rodney was not responding.

Sheppard kneeled beside them, "Carson?", he asked, his voice showing concern as he looked down at Rodney's pale face. McKay hadn't so much as twitched while being carried here by Ronon. It always amazed Sheppard how gentle Ronon could be when it came to injured team mates, especially Rodney who he often argued with.

The doctor shook his head, "Not good, we need to go now!"

Carson took a deep breath trying to calm his heart down from the adrenalin that had spiked during the fight with Jerin. He needed all his wits about him if he were to save his patient and friend. It all came down to him now.

Teyla smiled at Carson as she gently picked up one of McKay's hands and held onto it, hoping Rodney would feel her holding it and stay strong till they got him home to Atlantis.

Lorne didn't need to be told twice and the jumper lifted up heading for the stargate and home.

888888888888888888888888


	16. Chapter 16

**How To Save A Life **

**by The Watch Stander**

AN: Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Holidays! Thank you to all the wonderful people who have patiently waited for this and all of you who left reviews and added this to their lists!

This is the end, but I'm already planning another story so stay tuned.

I may just write the whole thing and post in parts as I edit. Much better than keeping everyone waiting between real life disasters that prevent me from writing.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

**Epilogue **

Elizabeth gently pushed a stand of hair off Rodney's face as he lay unconscious on the infirmary bed before her. She couldn't believe that he had managed to survive all the terrible things that had happened to him in the past few days.

When she had arrived in the jumper bay to meet the returning rescue party, she had been horrified at the sight of Rodney's pale and bruised face as Ronon carefully carried him out of the jumper to the awaiting medical team. Rodney's body had been totally limp in the Satedan's arms and for a moment she had feared that he was dead.

Only now that he was out of surgery and recovering could she let go of the icy cold feeling that had threatened to envelop her. Her friend was alive and that's all that mattered. She took a deep breath as she tiredly wiped her eyes.

John Sheppard had sat here with her for close to four hours, just watching as McKay breathed, wanting to be sure that he was going to make it. She knew the two men were good friends, even though neither would ever admit to it. Like brothers, but very different in personalities and temperament.

Watching John almost nod off in the chair had finally made her tell him to go to bed, for he had been up more than 48 hours and looked about to drop.

"All right, Elizabeth, but let me know if anything happens," he asked her with a tired smile.

"Of course I will. You get some rest and I'll see you in the morning."

John nodded and after gently patting the unconscious man's arm, left for his quarters, totally exhausted, but relieved that their mission had been a success.

_One more friend that he wouldn't be losing, but it had been close_.

After he left, Carson had come over to check on Rodney. To Elizabeth's eyes, he too looked wiped out, but there was no way he would leave till he was sure Rodney was all right.

McKay seemed to be holding his own, but one never knew, things could turn on a dime and he might crash still. Beckett planned on being nearby If that were to happen.

The scientist had been badly dehydrated as well as bleeding internally when they finally got him into surgery. Broken ribs and infections from his wounds hadn't helped. Add the other usual problems, lack of food and low blood sugar and they had a medical mess on their hands. It was a miracle the man had survived and Carson attributed it to the man's stubborn nature and how nothing defeated the scientist when he put his mind to it.

The doctor was just glad that Colonel Sheppard had arrived when he did, so that they got Rodney home in time. Another hour and he might not have made it. Carson wore a few bandages as well for even he hadn't come out of this unscathed. His arm was wrapped where the skaars had bitten him and he had a plaster on his forehead from the concussion.

"Carson, how are you doing? You look exhausted," Elizabeth asked.

"Aye, but I'll feel a lot better knowing he's going to pull through this," Carson said as he looked down affectionately at Rodney's still form. "Such a stubborn man, but still a good friend."

Elizabeth smiled, "That he is and we'd all miss him terribly. Thank you for saving him... again."

Carson smiled at her, "It was my pleasure. He may not seem like the nicest person, but underneath, he really is a good person."

"I know," she said simply. "Why don't you take a nap and I'll wake you if he needs anything."

Carson seemed to want to refuse, but finally smiled and agreed. "All right. I'll just take the next bed over, that way I'm close if you need me. Kim is on duty, but please wake me if anything happens."

"I will, Carson."

The doctor walked over to the next bed and after getting comfortable was almost instantly asleep.

Elizabeth smiled when she later heard his soft snores and knew she'd done the right thing in insisting the two men go and get some rest. The whole team would be back in the morning to check on Rodney, but that was tomorrow and everything would be so much better now that everyone was home safe.

She reached over and took hold of Rodney's hand, holding it in hers, staring fondly at her friend who still lay unconscious before her.

"What would we ever do without you?" She asked him, but getting no response she leaned back in her chair while still holding his hand. She hoped the day would never come that they would have to find that out.

Soft whispers floated all around him and the cotton in his head seemed safe and warm as he continued to drift. Words sometimes would reach him and he would catch his name mentioned, then the voices would fade again as he allowed himself to drift back into the cotton that continued to cover his mind. There was no pain so he slept on knowing he was safe by the familiar soft sounds and smells around him.

Someone was there with him....holding his hand.

_Atlantis... he was home._

End


End file.
